Many thesis, dissertation, and journal article writers treat similarity scores as a finish line. Manuscripts are paraphrased repeatedly until the percentage drops, and then the manuscript is considered safe. However, similarity checking tools only measure one thing: how much of your wording matches the text in their database. These tools do not know where your ideas come from, nor are they ever asked to know.
The regulations in Indonesia measure something different.
What is prohibited is not citing sources, not similarity
Permendiknas Number 17 of 2010 defines plagiarism as the intentional or unintentional act of obtaining credit or value for a scientific work by quoting part or all of another party's work recognized as their scientific work, without properly and adequately stating the source. The key phrase is "without stating the source," not "similar."
Article 2 paragraph (1) details five forms, two of which directly address the habit of chasing low scores:
- letter c: using sources of ideas, opinions, views, or theories without adequately stating the source;
- letter d: formulating in one's own words and/or sentences from sources of words, sentences, ideas, opinions, views, or theories without adequately stating the source.
Letter d describes paraphrasing. This regulation explicitly names it as a form of plagiarism when the source is not stated. Therefore, lowering the similarity score through paraphrasing without adding citations does not improve anything. It merely makes the violation harder to detect by machines.
The decision-makers are still human
Article 10 regulates the procedure. The head of the department makes a comparison between the student's scientific work and the suspected uncredited sources, then requests written testimony from a peer lecturer in the same field. The student suspected of plagiarism is given the opportunity to defend themselves. If either the comparison or the testimony cannot prove that plagiarism occurred, no sanctions can be imposed.
This means that similarity reports are not standalone evidence, and this applies both ways. A high score does not necessarily indicate plagiarism, for example, due to direct quotes that have been cited or repeated standard terms. A low score is also not a free pass.
The ladder of sanctions is long
Article 12 paragraph (1) outlines sanctions for students in order from the lightest: reprimand, written warning, suspension of some student rights, cancellation of grades for one or several courses, honorable dismissal, dishonorable dismissal, to the cancellation of a diploma if the student has graduated. For lecturers, researchers, and educational staff, paragraph (2) adds demotion and revocation of the right to be proposed as a professor.
Above this ministerial regulation, there are two laws. Law Number 12 of 2012 on Higher Education, Article 28 paragraph (5) and Article 42 paragraph (3), states that diplomas are invalid and degrees are revoked by universities if the scientific work used to obtain them is proven to be plagiarized. Law Number 20 of 2003 on the National Education System regulates the revocation of degrees in Article 25 paragraph (2), and Article 70 threatens imprisonment for up to two years and/or a fine of up to Rp200,000,000.
One update that needs to be noted. The new Criminal Code, Law Number 1 of 2023, will take effect on January 2, 2026, and revokes Article 69 of the National Education System Law which regulates the use of fake diplomas. Article 70 concerning plagiarized scientific works is not revoked and remains in effect.
The right question before hitting upload
It is not "is this sentence similar," but rather "did I obtain this idea from reading." If the answer is yes, the source must be cited, even if you have completely rephrased the entire sentence. This habit also saves manuscripts in the era of AI tools: the machine's output may show zero similarity, but the ideas within still have origins, and the bibliography provided by the machine must be checked one by one against the original sources before being included.
Rony Sandra Yofa Zebua discusses this issue in the class on Utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Scientific Journal Articles. If you prefer to see the explanation directly, there is a short clip.