By Fernando Fong
Copyright therakyatpost
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Despite achieving a perfect 4.0 STPM score and 99.90% overall results, a student was rejected by six public universities for accounting programs because he ranked behind hundreds of students who scored 100%, the Higher Education Department revealed.
Edward Wong from Penang’s Jit Sin High School made headlines after MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong held a press conference on his behalf.
Wong complained that despite scoring 4.0 in STPM and 9.9 out of 10 for co-curricular activities, he was rejected by all six public universities’ accounting departments.
The department said in a statement that Wong has actually been accepted into his fifth choice – a management honours degree program at a prestigious research university.
Although he achieved a total average score of 4.00 and 99.90% for co-curricular activities, giving him an overall score of 99.90% – making him an extremely outstanding applicant – his ranking in the accounting programs he applied for falls far behind.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
The department provided Wong’s exact rankings for accounting programs:
University of Malaya: Out of 2,291 eligible applicants, 1,127 achieved 100% scores. Wong ranked 1,129th, but the university only offered 85 places.
Universiti Putra Malaysia: Out of 4,154 eligible applicants, 1,718 achieved perfect 100% scores. Wong ranked 1,724th for just 100 available spots.
Universiti Utara Malaysia: Out of 2,595 eligible applicants, 1,282 achieved 100% scores. Wong ranked 1,288th for 350 places.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia: Out of 2,292 eligible applicants, 1,060 achieved 100% scores. Wong ranked 1,062nd for only 55 spots.
Wong’s 99.90% score, while excellent, “still falls far behind those students who achieved 100% outstanding results.”
The department also highlighted that government university admissions are entirely merit-based, with 90% of the evaluation based on academic performance and 10% on co-curricular activities, thereby dismissing allegations of flaws in the UPU Online system.
A total of 109,866 students applied through UPU Online, with 78,863 successfully gaining admission to public university undergraduate programs.
Additionally, all 1,255 students who achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs in Malaysian Higher Education Diplomas were guaranteed admission, with 1,249 already accepted and six pending document completion.
UMNO Youth Chief Demands Apology from MCA President
Meanwhile, UMNO Youth Chief Dr. Akmal Saleh posted on Facebook calling for Wee to apologise to the Higher Education Ministry over his handling of Wong’s university admission case.
Akmal initially acknowledged feeling sympathy for the student, but clarified that while Wong is smart, many other students achieved perfect 100% merit scores, competing for limited spots at the University of Malaya.
The firebrand politician criticised Wee for blaming the system as “broken,” calling it an inappropriate accusation that tarnishes the ministry’s reputation.
Akmal praised the civil servants for carrying out their responsibilities excellently without prejudice to any group, emphasising that this is what has been instilled in Malaysia’s public service.
He suggested that if Wee is embarrassed to apologise publicly, he should at least meet privately with the Higher Education Minister to apologise.
READ MORE: The STPM Wars: When Perfect Grades Mean Nothing In Malaysia’s University Lottery
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