KUALA LUMPUR: The dream of a top STPM student to pursue engineering at a local university is set to become a reality after MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong highlighted his plight.
Yesterday, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir gave the assurance in Parliament that Lim Chin Hong, a high-achiever who lost his right leg due to a medical condition called hemangiona, will be considered for engineering programmes offered in public universities.
Lim, a student from SMK Yong Peng who achieved a 4.0 CGPA in STPM 2024, was earlier denied the choice for engineering programmes on account of his disability.
“I was informed by the Yang Berhormat (Dr Wee) about this student, who is recognised as an OKU.
“The university evaluation had rejected him, despite his results being full straight As.
“He deserves to go to university,” Zambry said in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, where he acknowledged while the rejection was based on reasons such as the institution lacking the necessary facilities, admitted that such grounds were unacceptable and pledged policy changes to make public universities more inclusive.
“We cannot allow excuses like ‘we do not have the facilities’.
“We must change university policies to ensure greater inclusivity for OKU students.
“Therefore, I wish to inform Yang Berhormat that this student, who scored full As, will, God willing, be given a place,” he added.
Dr Wee, who is also the Ayer Hitam MP, highlighted Lim’s plight after the science stream student discovered that all engineering courses were removed from his public university application due to his disability.
Dr Wee questioned the broader admissions policy, citing the case of another student known only as Aniq, an autistic candidate who scored a CGPA of 3.8, but was also unable to select preferred programmes.
He stressed that government policies must not be seen as discriminating against persons with disabilities and urged the Higher Education Ministry to review policies to ensure equal opportunities for those with disabilities.
Zambry had said last week that Aniq’s case will be resolved soon.
