Ethical Statement

Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

Planning Malaysia is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. The journal follows the principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing and uses relevant Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance when concerns arise. Policies apply to regular issues, special issues, supplements, conference collections and all content published under the journal's name.

10.1 Allegations of misconduct

The journal considers allegations concerning plagiarism, text recycling, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, misleading images, authorship, undeclared conflicts, unethical research, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, paper mills and other integrity breaches. Concerns may be raised confidentially with the Editor-in-Chief or designated publisher ethics contact. The journal will assess evidence fairly, protect confidentiality where possible, give relevant parties an opportunity to respond and follow applicable COPE guidance. The journal may seek raw data, ethics records or institutional assistance. It does not replace an institution's authority to investigate research misconduct.

Possible actions include clarification, correction, rejection, withdrawal, expression of concern, retraction, notification of institutions or funders, and proportionate restrictions on future submissions. Actions will be based on evidence and due process, not allegation alone.

10.2 Plagiarism, duplicate publication and text recycling

Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, data, images, methods or intellectual contribution without adequate attribution. Duplicate or redundant publication includes publishing substantially the same work more than once without transparent cross-reference and justification. Reuse of an author's own text may be acceptable in limited standard descriptions where transparent and unavoidable, but extensive or misleading reuse is not. Similarity software supports human assessment and is not a plagiarism verdict.

10.3 Citation manipulation

Citation requests must have a valid scholarly purpose. The journal prohibits requests intended primarily to inflate citations to Planning Malaysia, an editor, reviewer, author or associated journal. Authors may question or decline a citation request and explain why. Editors will review unusual clusters of self-citation or journal citation and may remove a reviewer from the process where manipulation is suspected.

10.4 Conflicts of interest

Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence their work or judgement. Disclosure does not automatically imply wrongdoing; it allows transparent management. The editor will decide whether disclosure, recusal, replacement of a reviewer/editor or another safeguard is required. Relevant author conflicts and funding information will be published with the article.

10.5 Data and image integrity

Data and images must accurately represent the work. Adjustments must be applied consistently, must not obscure or introduce information and must be described where material. Composite images must be clearly marked. Editors may request original files, analysis code, audit trails or independent verification. Inability to provide supporting records may affect the decision or require post-publication action.

10.6 Complaints and appeals

The journal will acknowledge complaints and appeals, identify an appropriate conflict-free handler, review relevant records and communicate an outcome. Appeals concern a specific decision and must identify a material error or procedural issue. Complaints may concern conduct, service, confidentiality, discrimination or policy compliance. Complaints about the Editor-in-Chief are escalated to the designated MIP publisher representative or independent ethics adviser. Retaliation against a good-faith complainant is prohibited.

10.7 Corrections, expressions of concern and retractions

A correction will be published when an error materially affects interpretation, attribution or the publication record but does not invalidate the central findings. An expression of concern may be used while a serious issue is unresolved. Retraction may be necessary where findings are unreliable, research is unethical, publication is redundant, peer review was compromised, authorship or conflicts were seriously misrepresented, or other major misconduct has occurred. Notices will be freely accessible, state the reason, identify who initiated the action where appropriate, carry their own date/identifier and be bidirectionally linked to the article. The original article will remain identifiable as corrected or retracted rather than being silently removed, except where legal or safety requirements demand limited access.

10.8 Post-publication discussion

The journal welcomes evidence-based post-publication comments, letters or responses that address the content rather than the authors. Such contributions are moderated for relevance, civility, conflicts and confidentiality and may be reviewed. Authors will normally be offered an opportunity to respond. Credible concerns that affect the record will be handled under the correction or misconduct policy.

10.9 Publication fees and waivers

The website must list every possible author charge before submission, including the APC, taxes, colour/page charges, editing fees or other costs. If there is no submission or review fee, state this. The current APC is RM1,500 for accepted articles; any foreign-currency amount should be dated or described as indicative. Publish a clear waiver/discount policy or state that no waivers are available. Commercial matters must remain separate from editorial judgement.

10.10 Copyright, licence and author rights

The journal must adopt one unambiguous copyright and licence model. The recommended model is author-retained copyright with a licence to Planning Malaysia for first publication and CC BY 4.0 for the article. If another licence is adopted, use the exact same statement and link on all website pages, article PDFs/HTML, issue front matter, author agreements and Crossref metadata. State the author's rights to deposit submitted, accepted and published versions and any embargo conditions.

10.11 Digital preservation and continuity

Planning Malaysia will maintain secure backups and participate in a recognised long-term digital preservation arrangement, such as the PKP Preservation Network, LOCKSS/CLOCKSS or another service listed in the Keepers Registry. The website must name the active service only after activation. DOI metadata and full-text links must be maintained if the platform or publisher changes.

10.12 Privacy and data protection

Names, email addresses, affiliations, reviewer records and other personal data collected by the journal will be used only for legitimate editorial, publishing, indexing and integrity purposes; protected by appropriate access controls; retained only as required by the journal's documented schedule and applicable law; and not sold or used for unrelated marketing. The policy should explain data-controller contact details and how individuals may exercise applicable rights.

10.13 Advertising, sponsorship and other revenue

The journal must state whether it accepts advertising, sponsorship, reprints, supplements or other revenue. Such revenue must not influence editorial decisions, reviewer selection or the presentation of scholarly conclusions. Sponsored content must be clearly identified, and sponsors must have no control over acceptance decisions.

10.14 Publishing schedule and version of record

Planning Malaysia states that it publishes every two months, producing six issues annually. The journal should maintain this schedule, explain any exceptional delay and use one official version of record for each article. Received, revised, accepted and published dates should be displayed. Early-online publication, if used, must have stable DOI and versioning rules.