PETALING JAYA: The government must expand subsidised places under the UpUonline system to ensure capable Malaysians are not squeezed out of public universities, says G25.
The group of prominent Malays 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 intakes, with revenue from such programmes 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,” it said in a statement on Friday (Sept 19).
G25 warned that Malaysia’s ambition to become an international education hub must not come at the expense of Malaysians who deserve affordable and fair access to higher education.
It said a knowledge economy could not be built on “discrimination and opacity”, and cautioned that without reform, access to university would be determined by money, not merit.
Recently, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee highlighted the case of 20-year-old Edward Wong Yi Xian, who scored a perfect CGPA of 4.0 in the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) and 9.9 out of 10 in the Pentaksiran Aktiviti Jasmani, Sukan dan Kokurikulum (PAJSK).
G25 also highlighted Edward Wong as an example of systematic flaws, saying the controversy was not about one student or one race, but about a structural crisis undermining trust in admissions.
According to ministry data, enrolment of foreign students in Malaysia’s top five universities has surged by 20% to 30% annually since 2018, while local numbers at universities such as 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 government allocations barely cover salaries, leaving them dependent on full-fee-paying students, including foreigners, to make up the shortfall,” it said.
The group said this hits Malaysians hardest, with limited UPU seats forcing even high achievers into commercial admissions where they pay the same as foreigners.
It pointed to Universiti Malaya’s medicine course as the clearest example, where out of 120 UPU seats, only one went to an STPM student.
In a recent ministry statement, 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.
It added that the ministry’s refusal to publish clear data on admissions and qualifications fuels 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.
