PETALING JAYA: The government must expand subsidised UPUOnline seats to prevent capable Malaysians from being squeezed out of public universities, says G25.
The group of prominent retired civil servants said public universities were being hollowed out by shrinking subsidised intakes and growing dependence on commercial and direct admission channels.
It called for a cap on commercial enrolments, with revenue channelled back into subsidised places.
“Reform must start with honesty and coherence. Above all, public universities must be properly funded so they can focus on what matters: research, teaching quality and producing job-ready graduates,” G25 said in a statement yesterday.
The group warned that Malaysia’s ambition to become an international education hub must not come at the expense of locals who deserve affordable, fair access to higher education.
It said a knowledge economy cannot be built on “discrimination and opacity,” and cautioned that without reform, access to university will be determined by money, not merit.
G25 cited the case of STPM top scorer Edward Wong Yi Xian, which had also been highlighted by MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, as evidence of systemic flaws.
Wong, who scored a perfect CGPA of 4.0 and a near-perfect 99.9% overall merit score, claimed that his application for an accounting course was rejected under UPUOnline despite being earlier offered a seat through the open channel at more than RM80,000 in fees.
G25 said the controversy was not about one student or one race but about a structural crisis eroding trust in admissions.
According to published data, foreign student enrolment in Malaysia’s top five universities has surged by 20% to 30% annually since 2018, while local intakes at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia have declined.
“Public universities, starved of adequate government funding, now rely on commercial channels to survive. Senior administrators admit privately that allocations barely cover salaries, leaving them dependent on full-fee-paying students, including foreigners, to make up the shortfall.”
This, it added, hits Malaysians hardest, with limited UPU seats forcing even high achievers into commercial intakes where they pay the same fees as foreigners.
It highlighted Universiti Malaya’s medical course as an example, where out of 120 UPU seats, only one went to an STPM student.
It was revealed that 1,255 STPM candidates – about 3% of the cohort – achieved a perfect 4.0 CGPA.
But without comparable data for matriculation or foundation students, G25 said, fair comparisons were impossible.
The group said the ministry’s refusal to publish clear admissions and qualifications data only deepened public distrust.
“Attempts to frame this as a racial issue are misguided. Malaysians of all backgrounds are losing out when subsidised places shrink and commercial intakes expand unchecked,” it said.
