AI Policy

POLIGOV: Malaysian Journal of Policy, Leadership, International & Government Affairs recognises the increasing use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) and AI-assisted technologies in academic research, writing, editing, and scholarly communication. The journal permits the responsible and limited use of such technologies, provided that their use is transparent and ethical, and does not replace the intellectual contribution, critical judgement, originality, or scholarly responsibility of human authors.

The use of Generative AI in any submission to POLIGOV must comply with this policy, the journal’s publication ethics requirements, and the prevailing Universiti Malaya guidelines and policies governing the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence.

 

Authors

Authors may use Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies only as supplementary tools in the preparation of manuscripts. Such technologies must not replace authors’ own intellectual contribution, theoretical reasoning, research design, analysis, interpretation, or scholarly judgement. As a journal policy, AI-generated or substantively AI-assisted content must not exceed 20% of the manuscript. The substantial majority of the manuscript, including its conceptual development, argumentation, analysis, interpretation, findings, and conclusions, must represent authors’ own scholarly work.

Authors remain fully responsible for all material submitted to POLIGOV, regardless of whether Generative AI tools have been used. This responsibility extends to the accuracy and integrity of arguments, theoretical and conceptual development, methodology, evidence, data, analysis, findings, quotations, citations, references, conclusions, and policy implications.

Generative AI systems must not be listed as authors or co-authors. Authorship requires intellectual responsibility, accountability, consent, and the ability to respond to questions concerning the integrity of the work, responsibilities that cannot be assigned to an artificial intelligence system.

Any substantive use of Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies must be clearly disclosed in the manuscript. The disclosure should identify the full name of the tool, the model or version where available, the purpose for which it was used, and the nature and approximate extent of its contribution to the preparation of the manuscript. Such disclosure should normally appear in the Methods section or Acknowledgements section, depending on the nature of the use.

An appropriate disclosure may state: “During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name and version of AI tool] for [purpose]. The author(s) subsequently reviewed, verified, and revised all AI-assisted material and take full responsibility for the content of the manuscript.”

Routine use of spelling, grammar, formatting, or reference-management tools that does not generate substantive scholarly content would not normally require disclosure unless otherwise required by Universiti Malaya or the Editors.

Authors must independently verify all AI-generated or AI-assisted content before submission. Generative AI must not be used to fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or misrepresent research data, empirical findings, quotations, interview material, documentary evidence, references, citations, statistical results, or any other scholarly information. The submission of fabricated, inaccurate, non-existent, misleading, or unverifiable material may constitute research or publication misconduct and may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action.

Generative AI must also not be used as a substitute for conducting a genuine literature review, evaluating scholarly evidence, undertaking substantive analysis, or exercising independent academic judgement. The use of AI must remain supportive rather than constitutive of the scholarly contribution.

All authors submitting to POLIGOV must also comply with Universiti Malaya's prevailing guidelines and policies on the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence in academic, research, and scholarly activities. Where Universiti Malaya requirements establish a higher or more restrictive standard than this journal policy, the applicable Universiti Malaya requirements shall prevail.

The Editors reserve the right to request clarification, additional disclosure, or supporting information concerning the extent and manner of Generative AI use. Failure to disclose substantive AI use, exceeding the permitted threshold, or using AI in a manner inconsistent with research integrity may constitute grounds for editorial action.

 

Editors

Editors are responsible for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, impartiality, and intellectual property of manuscripts submitted to POLIGOV. All unpublished manuscripts and associated materials must be treated as confidential throughout the editorial and peer-review process.

Editors must not upload unpublished manuscript content, including abstracts, tables, figures, datasets, supplementary materials, author information, reviewer reports, or confidential editorial correspondence, into publicly accessible Generative AI platforms where confidentiality, ownership, data retention, or subsequent use of the information cannot be adequately guaranteed.

Generative AI must not be used to determine the scholarly merit of a manuscript, make editorial decisions, assess whether a submission should be accepted or rejected, or replace independent editorial judgement. Limited use of AI-assisted technologies for administrative, technical, or language-related purposes may be permitted where confidentiality is fully protected, and such use complies with Universiti Malaya and journal policies. Where necessary, such use should receive prior approval from the Editor-in-Chief or authorised editorial leadership.

Editors remain fully accountable for all editorial decisions. They must ensure that the use of AI-assisted technologies does not compromise fairness, independence, confidentiality, transparency, or the integrity of the editorial process.

 

Reviewers

Peer reviewers are selected based on their scholarly expertise and are expected to assess submitted manuscripts independently, critically, fairly, and confidentially. Reviewers must not rely on Generative AI to evaluate the scholarly quality of a manuscript, analyse its theoretical or conceptual contribution, summarise unpublished content, assess methods or findings, formulate substantive recommendations, or determine whether a manuscript should be accepted or rejected.

Reviewers must not upload any part of an unpublished manuscript or associated confidential material into Generative AI platforms. This restriction applies to manuscript text, figures, tables, datasets, appendices, supplementary materials, research proposals, and any other information provided during the peer-review process.

Limited use of AI-assisted tools may be permitted solely to improve the grammar, language, or clarity of the reviewer’s own written comments, provided that no confidential manuscript content is disclosed to the AI system. Reviewers remain solely responsible for the accuracy, originality, fairness, professionalism, and intellectual substance of their reports. Generative AI must never substitute for reviewers’ own scholarly expertise and independent judgement.

 

Confidentiality and Data Protection

Authors, Editors, and reviewers must exercise particular caution when handling confidential, sensitive, proprietary, unpublished, or personally identifiable information. Information obtained through the submission and peer-review process must not be entered into Generative AI systems where doing so could result in unauthorised storage, processing, disclosure, reuse, or transfer.

This requirement is particularly important for manuscripts involving confidential interviews, personal data, vulnerable populations, restricted datasets, government information, unpublished documents, or other ethically sensitive materials.

 

Editorial Oversight

Disclosure of Generative AI use does not automatically render a manuscript unacceptable. The Editors will consider whether the use of AI is proportionate, transparent, ethically appropriate, and compatible with the level of originality, intellectual contribution, and scholarly responsibility expected of work published in POLIGOV: Malaysian Journal of Policy, Leadership, International & Government Affairs.

The journal reserves the right to investigate suspected undisclosed or inappropriate use of Generative AI and to take appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics and malpractice policies.

Through this policy, POLIGOV seeks to ensure that Generative AI is used in a manner that supports, rather than replaces, human scholarship and that the principles of academic integrity, transparency, confidentiality, originality, intellectual responsibility, and trust remain central to the journal’s publication and peer-review processes.