KUALA LUMPUR: 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.
Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, hold press conference on acceptance of students to public universities for 2025/2026 session. Left is Edward Wong Yi Xian. — ART CHEN/The Star
“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.
