PETALING JAYA: Universiti Malaya (UM) should publish the academic results of the 85 students admitted into its accounting programme through the Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU) system, says Datuk Chong Sin Woon
The MCA secretary-general said this would be a transparent move to clear the speculations.
“UM should disclose the results of the 85 students admitted through UPU. Did every one of them score a perfect 100?" he asked.
"A way to justify why UM rejected Edward Wong’s application is to reveal the results of all 85 students enrolled.
"Are their results better than him, which must be 100% marks?" he said.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong had earlier highlighted the case of Edward Wong, 20, who scored 99.9% overall with a perfect 4.0 CGPA in Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM).
He failed to obtain a place in the accountancy studies in his dream university - UM.
Following Wong’s complaint, some quarters alleged that the number of places offered under the UPU system for UM’s accounting course was inconsistent with the final number of graduates produced.
Many also questioned whether Wong’s results were strong enough for admission into the accounting programme.
According to reference data provided via the UPU Pocket application, the average merit scores required were: Universiti Malaya – 99.15%; Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia – 100%; and Universiti Sains Malaysia – 99.37%.
The Higher Education Department (JPT) later explained why Wong did not secure a place in the course. It said Wong, despite his 4.0 CGPA and 99.9% co-curricular score, was ranked 1,129th out of 2,291 eligible applicants for UM, where only 85 seats were available this year.
Instead, Wong was offered his fifth choice — a Bachelor of Management with Honours at another research university. JPT also disclosed his rankings in other institutions: Universiti Putra Malaysia (1,724th out of 4,154 applicants, 100 seats available), Universiti Utara Malaysia (1,288th out of 2,595, 350 seats), and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (1,062nd out of 2,292, 55 seats).
In response, UM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osman said at a press conference on Wednesday (Sept 10) that the 85 places for the accounting programme were filled from different applicant categories.
“There were three groups — STPM, matriculation and foundation students, as well as diploma holders. These made up the 85 UPU places. In addition, another 28 seats were reserved for feeder candidates from UM.
“This is standard practice, where UPU allows UM to select foundation students with equivalent merit,” he said.
