A Facebook post by a French man has garnered attention, claiming that two academics from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) shared inaccurate information about Malay maritime history in an academic journal. In the post, Serge Jardin questions the credibility of the involved academic journal. 

The two accused academics are Dr. Rozita Che Rodi and Dr. Hashim Musa, authors of the paper titled 'The Jongs and The Galleys: Traditional Ships of The Past Malay Maritime Civilization.' It is reported that the journal was published in the International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Volume 13, Issue 11, 2023.

According to Jardin, the image used in their journal to represent the Malay Jong model is, in fact, a Foochow Pole Cargo Ship (a type of cargo ship) from China. The Malay Jong is a type of sailboat originating from Java, Indonesia, widely used by Javanese, and Sundanese sailors, and later by Pegu and Malay sailors. "This is embarrassing for the academic names! Shame, shame, shame, shame!" he wrote in the post.

Jardin also lists two other alleged inaccuracies in the journal. Regarding the Jong, he claims that the photo does not depict a Malay Jong but a Foochow Pole Cargo Ship from China. The model is not in the Maritime Museum in Jakarta but in the Royal Museums of Greenwich, England (ID: AAE0200). He questions whether the place where the journal was published can be trusted and if it went through a review process with other academics.

In response to the accusations, Dr. Rozita Che Rodi, one of the journal's authors, explained that the Jong displayed in the journal is from the Maritime Museum in Jakarta. She claims to have personally visited the museum and seen the exhibited model. However, she does not deny the existence of a similar model in other museums.

As of the writing of this article, UPM has not provided a response or clarification on the matter.