PETALING JAYA: Solutions must be prioritised over speculation in the case of a top student, whose application was rejected by Universiti Malaya (UM) under the UPUonline system despite earlier being offered a place through the open channel, that has sparked public uproar, says Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir (pic).
The Higher Education Minister said endless debate over the matter would only worsen the pressure faced by Edward Wong Yi Xian, who scored a perfect CGPA of 4.0 and a near-perfect 99.9% merit score in the STPM examination.
“Such issues must be resolved through proper discussion and explanation from the responsible parties, not speculation that worsens the situation,” Zambry said in a video statement.
He said his ministry empathised with the situation and has reached out to the parties representing Wong, stressing that direct engagement must be carried out to clarify the matter.
“This includes the issue of him being denied a place in UM via the UPUonline system, but was earlier offered a place through the open channel. These are all issues that can be discussed among the relevant parties, with UM also ready to offer explanations.
“At the ministry level, we have nothing to hide or cover up. If there are good suggestions regarding higher education, we are always open to them,” he said.
Zambry also acknowledged the competition for limited spots in public universities but said the ministry’s goal was to ensure a fair resolution for all parties.
The controversy erupted after MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong revealed that while Wong was rejected under the merit-based UPUonline system, UM had previously offered him a place in the same accounting programme via the open channel at more than RM80,000 in tuition fees – about 10 times the subsidised cost.
