KUALA LUMPUR: The International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) has abdicated its responsibility to uphold academic accountability and rigour.
United for the Rights of Malaysians (Urimai) chairman Dr P. Ramasamy said IIUM cannot say that Associate Professor Solehah Yaacob’s claims that the Romans learned shipbuilding from the Malays were merely her personal opinion and does not represent the university’s official position.
“I find it appalling that IIUM would so casually dismiss the statement of one of its academics who claimed that the Romans learnt the art of shipbuilding from the Malays.
“Her claim sparked uproar in academic circles, particularly because her area of expertise bears little relevance to disciplines such as history, archaeology or maritime studies — fields necessary to make such sweeping historical claims,” Ramasamy said in a statement yesterday.
Ramasamy, a former lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia from 1981 to 2005, said passing off unsubstantiated claims from academics as personal opinions erodes academic integrity.
“How can personal opinions, when expressed publicly under the banner of academic authority, be immune from accountability?
“By dismissing Solehan’s statement in such a manner, IIUM has abdicated its responsibility to uphold academic accountability and rigour.
“Those in charge of academic standards at IIUM should be ashamed of defending what is clearly indefensible,” he said.
Ramasamy added that institutions who defend academics when making baseless claims were making a mockery of Malaysian higher education.
Previously, a video of Solehah claiming that the Romans learned shipbuilding from the Malays went viral.
It was part of a lecturer she had given that had included various matters.
IIUM later issued a statement saying that it took the matter seriously and regretted the academic’s actions, adding that it would investigate the matter with its internal mechanisms.
The university expressed regret over the academic’s actions as it had tarnished the university’s academic integrity and reputation.
However, the university said the words uttered were merely the academic’s personal opinion and did not reflect the university’s position.
This is not the first time that the academic has come under fire.
Last year, she denied claims that she made a statement claiming Prophet Muhammad’s wife, Siti Khadijah, had heritage from Malaya, after a video went viral.
She said that the clip was edited.
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