Top STPM scorer Edward Wong Yi Xian is heartbroken after being rejected by Universiti Malaya (UM) for its Accounting course despite near-perfect results in both studies and co-curricular activities.
The 20-year-old from Bukit Mertajam dedicated two years to the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), scoring a CGPA of 4.0, straight A’s in all subjects and 9.9 out of 10 for co-curricular activities – giving him a total merit score of 99.9%.
Yet his applications through the Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU) to six public universities, including UM, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), were all rejected without even an interview. Instead, he was offered a place in Management at USM, his fifth choice.
“When I entered Form Six, I had only one dream – to be accepted into UM’s Accounting programme. I poured in all my energy, time and effort, fighting through the most challenging syllabus in the country. I never gave up because I believed that if we gave our all, the results would come,” Wong said at a press conference at Wisma MCA on Monday (Sept 8).
He explained that he did not apply to UM in the first phase as its requirement then was three out of four core subjects. When the university later revised this to two – which he had met with Accounting and Economics – he reapplied, but was still rejected.
“In the end, the four leading universities did not offer me Accounting. I was only given Management at USM – not the path I had dedicated myself to,” he said.
Wong added that some of his peers with slightly lower scores had secured places in UM, though not in their preferred courses, leaving them little choice but to compromise.
“So I must ask, not only for myself – how far must we go to chase our dreams? How much must we struggle just to have the right to choose? Is our hard work not valued?” he said.
His father, Wong Hooi Yik, 48, who works in the semiconductor industry, said his son’s almost perfect score should have guaranteed him fair treatment. The family is holding on to hope as the appeal period remains open until Sept 14.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, who highlighted Wong’s case, said it exposed serious flaws in the university admission system.
He noted the irony that on July 23 Wong was offered Accounting at UM under the Saluran Terbuka Universiti Awam (SATU) or open admission channel, but with tuition fees of RM83,800 compared with about RM8,000 under UPU.
“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?” Dr Wee asked.
He said the SATU system, which operates as a commercial pathway, was deeply unfair to students from lower- and middle-income families.
“This is another toxic example showing flaws in the system. Students forfeit their matriculation option but still cannot secure their preferred courses,” he added.
Dr Wee urged the government to prioritise top scorers and treat STPM students from the science, arts and commerce streams equally.
He said 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 accepted under SATU.
“The government must not allow such unfair practices to persist. Confidence in the university admission process must be restored,” he said.
Group upset after student with 4.0 CGPA in STPM denied varsity spot
Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) has demanded an explanation from the higher education ministry after an STPM student who scored a perfect 4.0 CGPA was denied entry to 12 local degree programmes.
Umany president Lim Jing Jet said Goh Siang Yee’s case highlighted the weaknesses in the public university admissions mechanism.
“We urge the higher education ministry to explain Goh’s case to the public,” he said at a press conference held at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.
“We also want the implementation of a transparent criteria and mechanism under the University Central Unit’s (UPU) application system to ensure a fair admissions process for all pre-university students.”
Goh, who also scored high marks for co-curricular activities, had applied for engineering courses through the system but did not receive a single offer despite his excellent academic and co-curricular records.
“When I emailed UPU to ask why I was rejected, the admissions officer informed me that I met all the requirements for the selected programmes, but I ‘lost’ due to competition with other candidates, or because the programme I applied for is highly competitive,” he said.
According to Lim, Umany received 23 other complaints from students who were unhappy with their UPU results, with three STPM students and eight from the matriculation programme saying they were not successful in getting any of their first three choices in their application.
“This UPU injustice towards well-deserving students has been going on for many years but we still do not see any effort by the government to resolve the issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, Goh said his identity card and birth certificate were withheld by the national registration department (JPN) in early 2022 because the adoption process by his parents was found to be invalid.
He only received his new birth certificate in April this year and filed for citizenship in July, with the result of his application still pending.
However, Goh said he did not think his citizenship status had anything to do with the rejection for the degree programmes as he was able to apply through the UPU system.
He added that he will consider applying to private universities but is concerned that his current citizenship status will make it difficult for him to get a scholarship.
