National news agency Bernama confirmed today the suspension of one of its journalists following allegations that he had plagiarised two articles from Indonesian newspaper Jakarta Globe.
Bernama editor-in-chief Datuk Zulkefli Salleh said a probe on the matter has also been launched.
“Bernama will investigate allegations that its reporter plagiarised news from Jakartaglobe and the reporter in question has been suspended — Editor-in-Chief,” Bernama tweeted on its account @bernamadotcom today.
In a report on its website today, Jakarta Globe said it first discovered the alleged plagiarism when it found the contents of its article on the Indonesian presidential election reproduced and credited to Bernama.
The Indonesian paper compared its own piece — “In Closing Debate, Joko Promises Bureaucratic ‘Breakthrough,’ While Prabowo Strives for A Dignified Nation” — to Bernama’s version, “Joko Promises Bureaucratic ‘Breakthrough,’ While Prabowo Strives for ‘A Dignified Nation’”.
Putting up a screen capture comparing both articles, Jakarta Globe noted that the two articles were found to be near-identical, save for one line crediting a quote to the Jakarta-based daily.
While Jakarta Globe’s article had the bylines of their reporters Josua Gantan and Andrea Wijaya, the Bernama version had Elmi Rizal Alias’s byline.
The Bernama version was republished by a third party and credited to the Malaysian outlet.
The discovery had prompted Jakarta Globe to scrutinise Bernama’s pieces for further instances of plagiarism, which it said it found in another of its articles, “Hatta Says Indonesia Should Take Advantage of its ‘Demographic Bonus’”, being the source of Elmi Rizal’s “inspiration”.
“The same story was found on Bernama’s website with the slightly altered title ‘Indonesia Should Take Advantage of Its Demographic Bonus —Hatta’,” said Jakarta Globe.
Bernama, Malaysia’s national news agency, began operations in 1968 after its formation was legislated in Parliament the year before. It is a unit under the Ministry of Multimedia and Communications. – themalaymailonline
