Kota kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) today denied involvement in organising a conference that allegedly used the university's name unlawfully and promoted UMS as the organiser and venue for the programme without permission on several websites.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the university's Corporate Communication Centre revealed that the website promotes the International Global Multidisciplinary Engineering Conference (IGMEC) and the International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Instrumentation (ICBEI), falsely claiming the university's involvement. The website also displayed the names of UMS lecturers, such as Prof Ts Dr Rodeano Roslee as the keynote speaker, without the knowledge or permission of the university or the individuals involved.

UMS emphasised that it has never granted permission to any party to use the name of the university, faculty, or academic staff for the purpose of promoting the programme in question. A statement from the university declared, "UMS takes this matter seriously as it has the potential to mislead the public and tarnish the university's reputation. Therefore, a police report and a complaint to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will be made to enable further investigations to be conducted."

UMS also advises the public, especially the academic community, to always conduct proper checks to ensure the authenticity of any programme, seminar, or conference claiming to be affiliated with the university. The statement continued, "The university authorities also urge the public to report any such activities or suspicious use of the UMS name to the university for verification and immediate action."

Furthermore, UMS stressed that all official information related to university programmes will only be channelled through the university's official communication channels.