KOTA KINABALU, Oct 22 — Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) has brought forward the first two sessions of its 27th convocation ceremony by one day to avoid coinciding with the 17th Sabah state election polling date.
In a social media post last night, UMS announced that Session 1 and Session 2, originally scheduled for November 29 (Saturday), will now be held on November 28 (Friday).
“The rescheduling allows graduates, parents, university staff and the public to fulfil their civic duty as voters without disrupting the smooth conduct of the convocation,” UMS said in a statement.
The remaining sessions — Session 3 and 4 on November 30 (Sunday), and Session 5 and 6 on December 1 (Monday) — will proceed as planned.
The university said the change was made following the Election Commission’s announcement that polling day, set for November 29, coincides with the initial convocation date.
It also extended appreciation to graduates, parents and staff for their patience and understanding, adding that it apologised for any inconvenience caused.
Earlier, UMS had announced that its convocation would be postponed to an unspecified date to make way for polling day.
The decision initially drew anger and frustration from students and parents who had already made travel and accommodation plans, with many criticising the new dates as they had planned to fly in a day earlier.
Board of directors chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the change was made as a matter of civic responsibility and to allow students and the public to vote.
For the state polls, the Election Commission has set November 15 as nomination day, November 25 for early voting, and November 29 for polling.
