Journal Policies
Publication Ethics
Download MJMS Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) standards on publications ethics. Submission of an article implies that:
- The work described has not been published previously except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis.
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
- That its submission and publication in the journal is known and approved by all Authors.
- The work is the Author’s own and there are no falsifications or fabrication of data, plagiarism including duplicate publication of the authors’ own work without proper citation and misappropriation of.
Any cases of ethical misconduct are treated very seriously and will be dealt with using the guidelines issued by the COPE. For further details please visit:
Copyright Policy
This Journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. All articles in the Journal are published open access under a Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY 4.0). Authors transfer the copyright to Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia. This copyright transfer enables the Journal to protect the copyrighted material for the authors but does not relinquish the authors’ proprietary rights. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microfilm or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations. Authors are responsible for obtaining from the copyright holder permission to reproduce any materials for which copyright exists.
The works are released under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0), which provides unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this Journal and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Authorship Policy
Corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal and between co-authors. Ensure that all authors are included in the list in an agreed order, and that all authors are aware that the paper was submitted. Any changes to the author list after submission needs to be approved by a letter signed by every author.
Authors retain rights of personal use of the material, such as in derivative works, thesis or dissertation, and educational purposes, provided that full acknowledgement is made to the original publication in the journal.
Authors may upload their accepted manuscript PDF to institutional repositories (including PubMed Central); however, the following clause should be included:
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version [insert complete citation information here] is available online at: xxxxxxx [insert URL that the author will receive upon publication here].
For commercial uses, permission from the Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia is required.
Conflict of Interest
Authors are requested to disclose any conflict of interest, either financial or personal, that could affect or influence their work.
Originality
Articles must be originally written by the author. Work/words of others have to be appropriately cited or quoted.
Open Access Policy
The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences published by Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia is an open access journal. All articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY). All articles are freely available to read, share and download. In accordance with publication ethics and best practices of scholarly publishing, authors and journals must be properly credited. All articles are accessible via the Journal's website and selected indexing and abstracting databases.
Language Policy
Manuscript must be written in English.
Submissions
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all Authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Manuscripts should be submitted through the online submission and refereeing system, ScholarOne Manuscripts. New authors must first register at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/maljms. This online submission system will facilitate the submission of manuscripts and streamline the review process as well as publisher’s decision.
Review
Peer-Review
This Journal practices a double-blind peer review policy. The Editorial Board may exercise their prerogative to reject a manuscript without peer review if that article is judged to be outside the scope of the Journal, poorly written or formatted or lacking in significance.
As a peer-reviewed international e-journal the evaluation process is often lengthy, therefore allow a conservative estimate of between three to five months before a formal result is announced.
Publication
Proof
Proof will be sent to corresponding authors via email as a PDF file. It is therefore essential that all submissions contain the e-mail address of the corresponding author. To avoid delays in publication, proof should be checked carefully and immediately for typographical errors and returned within 48 hours.
Offprint
Author can retrieve their published article from the journal’s website.
Publication Charges
|
Item |
Before 1 June 2026 |
From 1 June 2026 onwards |
|
Manuscript ID |
05-2026 |
06-2026 onwards |
|
APC Rate |
MYR600/USD200 |
MYR1,500/USD400 |
|
APC Discount |
Not applicable |
Discounted rate: (Applicable to |
Article Publishing Charge (APC)
With effect from 1st June 2026 onwards, an Article Publishing Charge (APC) of MYR1,500/USD400 will be imposed on authors upon acceptance of a manuscript for publication (for submission starting 1st June 2026).
All manuscripts published in our journals are open access and freely available online. APC is crucial to sustain and develop an open-access journal. The APC payable for a manuscript is agreed as part of the manuscript submission process. Authors pay a one-time APC to cover the costs of publishing services we provide. This includes provision of online tools for editors and authors, manuscript production and hosting, liaison with abstracting and indexing services, and customer services. The corresponding author of the manuscript is responsible for making or arranging the payment upon editorial acceptance of the manuscript. We advise prompt payment as we are unable to publish accepted manuscripts until payment has been received. Payment should be made through the University’s payment gateway as instructed in the acceptance email from the Editor-in-Chief.
Upon acceptance of a manuscript, an APC of MYR1,500/USD400 will be imposed on the authors. The APC is based on the followings:
- MYR1,500 for corresponding author affiliated mainly to an institution in Malaysia.
- USD400 for corresponding author affiliated mainly to foreign institution outside Malaysia.
(Bank charges have to be defrayed by authors.)
For manuscripts submitted prior to 1st June 2026, the previously established APC rates remain applicable, namely MYR600 for corresponding authors primarily affiliated with institutions in Malaysia and USD200 for those affiliated with institutions outside Malaysia, payable upon acceptance of the manuscript (applicable to submissions BEFORE 1st JUNE 2026). No waiver is applicable to these submissions.
APC Discount Policy (Effective 1st June 2026)
Corresponding authors affiliated with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) are eligible to publish at a discounted APC rate of MYR850.
This discount applies only to manuscripts where the corresponding author’s primary affiliation is USM at the time of submission and acceptance. The discount will be applied to the APC upon acceptance of the manuscript.
This policy is effective for all manuscripts submitted on or after 1st June 2026.
Refund Policy
The corresponding author assumes the responsibility for the APC payment. Penerbit USM will refund an APC if an error on our part has resulted in a failure to publish the accepted manuscript. APCs will not be refunded when articles are withdrawn by the author(s) or retracted as a result of author error or misconduct.
Non-Refundable Situations
- Once an article has been accepted and published, APCs are non-refundable.
- Refunds will not be granted for delays in the review or publication process.
- Refunds will not be issued if the author withdraws after acceptance.
- No refund will be given if errors or mistakes originate from the author, including but not limited to submission errors, formatting issues, or failure to comply with journal guidelines.
- All payment errors made by the author (e.g., double payment, incorrect payment amount) will not be refunded.
Waiver Policy
There is no discount or waiver on the APC for accepted papers.
Payment Instruction
The APC payment must be made online through USM e-payment portal. Author(s) of accepted paper will be instructed on the payment via the acceptance email from the Editor. Please note that your publication will only be considered upon acceptance of payment, not acceptance date.
Only payment through the USM e-payment portal will be accepted and processed. Once you click the provided link, you should be directed to the USM e-payment form for “Journal Publication” services, in which it will land to the designated journal e-payment portal. Please make sure that the name of the journal is correctly displayed. If the link does not direct to the correct journal, please refer the matter to the Journal Admin immediately.
Author then must fill in the Manuscript ID (provided by the journal during submission). Before you click “Next”, please ensure that you have filled in all required information. Through this portal, payment can be made either by credit card or interbank online transfer method. Author MUST ensure to select the correct currency and amount as instructed in the acceptance email. After you have successfully made the payment, please print the proof of payment as PDF and email this document to the Journal Admin. You will receive an acknowledgement email once we have received the notification of successful transaction from the bank. Should you have enquiries or issues regarding the payment process, please contact the Journal Admin.
APC Payment Guidelines
APC FAQs
USM ePayment Operating Hours
Normal Day Transaction
01:00 am – 11:30 pm
Malaysia Time Zone (UTC+08:00)
Month/Year End Transaction
01:00 am – 11:59 am
Malaysia Time Zone (UTC+08:00)
License
All articles published in MJMS are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Use of AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in Scientific Writing
Following the rapidly evolving use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative chatbots, the Journal has adopted the following policies, as specified by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), on the use of AI in preparation of material to be submitted for publication in the Journal.
Where authors use AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, these technologies should only be used to improve readability and language of the work and not used to replace researcher tasks such as producing scientific insights, analysing and interpreting data or drawing scientific conclusions. Applying these technologies should only be done with human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the result because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the originality, accuracy and integrity of the work; and should disclose the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in a statement at the end of the article. Where AI or AI-assisted technologies are used in this context, authors have to insert a statement at the end of their manuscript, entitled ‘Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies in the Writing Process’. Authors will have to specify the tool that was used and the reason for using the tool.
Plagiarism Policy
Any allegations of plagiarism or self-plagiarism/text-recycling made to the Journal will be investigated by the Journal’s Editor, following COPE guidelines. If the allegations appear to be founded, the corresponding author of the manuscript will be asked to provide an explanation of the overlapping material. The Editorial Board members and the author’s institution may be requested to assist in the further evaluation of the manuscript and the allegations.
All the manuscripts submitted to the Journal are subject to plagiarism check using the plagiarism checker software and the similarity index should not exceed 25%. In the event it does, manuscripts may be returned to the authors with a request that they address the issues through appropriate citation, use of quote marks to identify direct quotes or re-writing. If the similarity is too extensive for revision, the manuscript may be rejected.
Contact Details
Editor-In-Chief
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences
School of Medical Sciences
Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus
Kubang Kerian
16150 Kota Bharu
Kelantan, Malaysia
Email: mjms.usm@gmail.com
Journal Administrator
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences
Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia
Universiti Sains Malaysia
11800 USM
Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Email: mjms.usm@gmail.com