KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 (Bernama) -- The Higher Education Ministry feels a heavier penalty should have been meted out to the two Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) lecturers caught for plagiarism, Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Hou Kok Chung said today.

Nevertheless, the ministry respected the autonomy accorded to the tertiary institution to deal with such cases, he told the Dewan Rakyat when replying to a question from Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor).

The UPM management committee decided to issue a stern warning to the two academicians and ordered a stop to the sale of the plagiarised guide books they had produced, he added.

Dzulkefly had wanted to know why more severe action was not taken against the lecturers.