KLANG: Growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) risks weakening critical thinking and producing a generation with access to vast amounts of information but lacking the ability to engage meaningfully with knowledge.
Speaking at the 17th National Academic Awards (AAN17) here tonight, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said academics and universities must ensure technological advances, including generative AI, do not undermine education and intellectual development.
“Students no longer regard professors as their primary source of knowledge. They have a new teacher,” he said, referring to AI tools such as ChatGPT.
Zambry said academics must go beyond lecture halls and research laboratories to shape public thinking and address national and global challenges.
He said academic excellence should not be measured merely by publications, research grants and international rankings, but also by how far knowledge and expertise benefited society.
He also urged academics to challenge existing assumptions, offer constructive criticism and have the courage to speak truth to power, while upholding intellectual integrity and moral responsibility.
At the ceremony, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Professor Emeritus Datin Dr Aini Ideris received the Tokoh Akademik Negara award for her contributions to poultry science, biotechnology and vaccine production.
Aini, UPM’s first woman vice-chancellor, serving from 2016 to 2020, was recognised for developing the Newcastle disease vaccine (NDV4-UPM) and fowl pox vaccine, which have reached international markets.
She received RM200,000, a trophy, plaque and certificate.
The Anugerah Ahli Akademik Harapan went to Xiamen University Malaysia’s Professor Dr Ong Wee Jun and Universiti Teknologi Petronas Associate Professor Dr Serene Lock Sow Mun.
Other recipients included UPM’s Associate Professor Dr Jayanthi Arasan, who was recognised for excellence in science teaching and received a full scholarship to pursue further studies at Oxford University, and Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Dr Ooi Sya Keat, who was recognised for journal publication.
A total of nine awards were presented at the ceremony.
The awards also recognised achievements in innovation and commercialisation, book publishing, and teaching in the arts and social sciences.
Zambry said Malaysian academics had also made their mark internationally, with researchers from local universities featuring among the world’s top 200 scientists in a database developed by researchers from Stanford University in the United States.
He said the presence of international students at Malaysian universities also reflected confidence in the country’s higher education standards.
Congratulating the recipients, he said the awards carried a responsibility to advance knowledge, produce quality research and inspire future generations.
“We want scholars who do not merely pursue excellence for themselves, but build greatness for their nation,” he said.
Introduced in 2002, the annual awards recognise outstanding contributions by academics from higher education institutions in advancing knowledge and enhancing Malaysia’s standing internationally.