PETALING JAYA: Parliament has the right to receive answers that are honest, complete and accountable, says Ayer Hitam MP Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
Expressing frustration with the parliamentary responses given to him by the Higher Education Ministry on two occasions, the MCA president said parliamentary questions are not a mere formality and must not be taken lightly.
“They are one of the most fundamental mechanisms of checks and balances in a constitutional democracy.
“When a ministry chooses not to answer the questions asked, it is not merely an issue of inefficiency. It is an affront to the institution of Parliament itself,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (March 4).
In the same post, Dr Wee also uploaded images of the questions he posed and the answers he received from the ministry.
One of his questions was about data on undergraduate admissions through the open channel at five public research universities from 2018 to 2025, broken down by university, programme, year, nationality, race and admission pathway, such as Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) and matriculation qualifications.
He also asked for a comparison with the Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU) channel.
The ministry responded that the total number of eligible applications and offers given to STPM candidates during this period stood at 97,786 and 38,647, respectively.
For matriculation students, there were 93,614 eligible applications and 61,303 candidates offered placements.
According to the ministry, the total number of STPM and matriculation students admitted through the open channel between 2018 and 2025 was 3,962.
“The response only provided overall aggregate figures. There was no breakdown by university, race, year, or programme. All the key information specifically requested was simply disregarded,” Dr Wee said.
Another question from Dr Wee sought clarification on the difference between the requested and actual allocations approved for the five research universities.
He also asked whether this shortfall affected the number of UPU places for competitive courses such as medicine, pharmacy, engineering and law.
“The ministry avoided the question by stating that public universities are statutory bodies that must generate their own income, and concluded by asserting that the matter ‘does not affect’ the number of UPU places without any supporting data, evidence or explanation,” he said.
In its response, the ministry said that research universities, as federal statutory bodies, must generate their own income in addition to receiving government allocations.
It added that a university’s annual expenditure planning must be based on the allocation approved by the Finance Ministry as well as projected internally generated revenue.
This must be done while ensuring that the core functions of the research universities are not compromised.
“Each university has its own mechanism for determining its direction and operations, taking into account the financial resources available.
“This matter does not affect the number of places offered through the UPU system, including for competitive programmes such as medicine, pharmacy, engineering and law,” the ministry said.
