The academic group said there have been repeated cases of Malaysian academics making factually incorrect claims when commenting on matters beyond their field of study and expertise.

In such instances, Gerak said academics should be answerable to their peers rather than “external entities” or even the higher education minister.

“Aside from Gerak, there are a number of other, admittedly muted, academic organisations that really need to unmute themselves in this regard.

“Indeed, we hope that, should instances like these come up again, other purportedly ‘academic’ Malaysian organisations would play their roles as senior academics.

“After all, we believe that professors should profess,” it said in a statement today.

Two weeks ago, higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir urged lecturers not to issue statements on topics outside of their area of expertise to prevent confusing the public.

The Academic Staff Association of International Islamic University Malaysia had also said lecturers could undermine public trust in universities and the integrity of scholarly discourse by venturing beyond their fields of expertise in public discussions.

Gerak maintained that academics need to be interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary in their studies and research.

“The ‘lanes’ scholars move in can be many and varied. Knowledge acquisition and dissemination should never be about staying within particular and narrow lanes.

“The question should be about maintaining one’s credibility and applying intellectual rigour, irrespective of the lane, field or discipline that we move into,” it said.