KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — The Higher Education Department (JPT) has explained why top Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) scorer Edward Wong Yi Xian from Penang did not secure a place in Universiti Malaya’s (UM) accountancy programme through the centralised Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU) system.
JPT said in a statement that Wong, who scored a perfect 4.0 CGPA and achieved 99.9 per cent in co-curricular activities, was ranked 1,129th out of 2,291 eligible applicants, while only 85 seats were available for UM’s accountancy course this year.
It said Wong was instead offered a place in a Bachelor of Management with Honours at another research university, which was his fifth choice.
JPT added that Wong’s rankings for accountancy were also not within intake limits at other public universities, including Universiti Putra Malaysia (1,724th for 100 seats), Universiti Utara Malaysia (1,288th for 350 seats) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (1,062nd for 55 seats).
“Accordingly, the candidate was offered a place based on merit and programme choices, just like all other applicants,” JPT said, stressing that UPUOnline placements were system-generated and based on merit scores.
The case gained attention after MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong highlighted Wong’s rejection, calling the centralised admissions system “flawed” and “unfair”. Wong was later accepted into the same UM accountancy course through open intake, but at a fee of RM83,800, nearly 10 times the RM8,300 subsidised route under UPU.
JPT also said it had fulfilled its pledge to place all 1,255 STPM students with perfect CGPAs into public universities, noting that 1,249 had already been offered places while six more were finalising paperwork.
It added that the UPUOnline appeal consultation counter is open at the Higher Education Ministry atrium in Putrajaya until September 12 for candidates seeking further clarification.
