THE MCA has called for urgent reforms in public university admissions after more high performers were denied preferred courses despite outstanding results.
Party president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong pointed out that even candidates with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.0 and near-perfect co-curricular scores were being denied places in public universities.
He cautioned that if such talents were not retained, countries like Singapore would grab them - at Malaysia's loss.
“What is the point of spending so much money on TalentCorp to lure Malaysians back later when we fail to keep them in the first place?” he said as reported by The Star.
He said that despite efforts by TalentCorp, Malaysia was still losing bright talents to neighbouring countries.
He highlighted the case of 20-year-old Edward Wong Yi Xian, who scored a perfect CGPA of 4.0 in the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) and 9.9 out of 10 in PAJSK.
Wong applied through the Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU) to pursue a Bachelor of Accounting at six public universities – Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
"All six applications were rejected, and Wong was not even called for an interview and instead, UPU offered him a place in USM’s management course.
"Ironically, on July 23, Wong received an offer to study accounting at UM – his first choice – but only under the Saluran Terbuka Universiti Awam (Satu), or open admission channel," said Wee.
He said the tuition fees amounted to RM83,800 compared with about RM8,000 if admitted through UPU.
UM’s Satu is a direct application channel for Universiti Malaya, offering an alternative pathway for eligible students to apply for admission to the university.
“This doesn’t make sense. Wong should have been admitted under UPU with his 99.9% overall score. Yet he was rejected there but accepted under Satu, where the fees are more than 10 times higher. Does this not render UPU meaningless?” questioned the MCA president.
Dr Wee added that the case revealed systemic weaknesses that risked driving Malaysian talent abroad.
“This is another toxic example showing flaws in the system. Students forfeit their matriculation option but still cannot secure their preferred courses,” he said.
He urged the government to treat STPM students from the science, arts and commerce streams equally and grant first-choice university and course placements to STPM students with a perfect CGPA of 4.0.
Dr Wee also said that he would raise the matter with Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and called on UM to explain why Wong was rejected through UPU but admitted under Satu. – September 9, 2025
