KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz today indicated it would be better to miss key performance indicators (KPIs) or targets set for university teaching staff, than to forcibly ride on their post-graduate students’ work without contribution.

Rafidah, who had lectured in Universiti Malaya in the past, expressed disagreement with the alleged dishonest practice.

When highlighted by a member of the audience to her that local universities’ lecturers and professors were allegedly resorting to exploiting their post-graduate students’ work due to the high KPIs that they have to meet, Rafidah said this should not be the case.

"I agree with you to some extent, but anybody with a sense of pride and self-respect will not resort to this.

"I rather not meet my KPI to be dean or whatever if it means I have to go and steal somebody’s work.

"No need lah, no need to get PhD. If you are good, you are good. You can have 10 PhDs in front of your name, if you are lousy, doesn’t mean a thing. That’s my principle in life,” the former minister of close to 21 years told a public forum.

She gave the comment during a question-and-answer session in the forum.

Earlier in the session where questions were posed to Rafidah, Singapore-based Malaysian academic Syed Farid Alatas who was attending the forum had also raised the same topic of the alleged "widespread dishonesty” in many universities in Malaysia.

"Malaysians have heard of plagiarism, that’s only part of the problem.

"Do you also know that graduate students (PhD) in most universities are forced to co-author their publications together with their professors and supervisors, even with the professors not doing the work?

"So the name of the professor goes on the paper without the professor or supervisor having done anything,” he said.

He said this unethical practice which was "dishonest, demeaning, insulting” is going on in many universities.

"I don’t know whether the ministry realises, word is getting around. Foreign students who are subject to this, who come here, are telling their friends and peers, ‘don’t go to Malaysia, because to have to do this’,” he added.

This issue was one of three issues which Syed Farid cited as examples of easy problems which the Education Ministry could easily take action on and resolve.

Rafidah was speaking at a forum titled "The Current State of Malaysia’s Education System and the Way Forward”, which was jointly organised by Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (GERAK) and Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan (Patriot) and held at Universiti Malaya’s law faculty.