EDUCATION is supposed to be the great equaliser. Public universities, funded by taxpayers, must provide fair access for all Malaysians who work hard and excel.
Yet today, we are seeing a dangerous shift. Seats are being sold under paid schemes, STPM students are sidelined despite excelling, and foreign intake is rising at the expense of Malaysians.
The numbers speak volumes. For the 2025/26 academic session, 109,866 STPM holders applied for bachelor’s degree programmes. Out of these, only 78,883 were offered places through the UPU merit-based channel, meaning almost 28% were rejected through the normal system.
Many of these students will be told to enter via the SATU or other paid commercial channels, even though they have already proved their academic merit.¹
This unfairness is even more shocking for top scorers. In 2025, 1,255 STPM students achieved a perfect CGPA of 4.00. Yet many were denied their first-choice programmes.
At Universiti Malaya, for instance, 2,291 eligible applicants vied for accounting. Out of these, 1,127 had 100% merit scores but UM only offered 85 seats. A student ranked 1,129th despite perfect scores was rejected.²
This is not meritocracy. It is a system where perfection is no guarantee of opportunity.
History shows the disparity clearly. In 2018, 96.9% of matriculation students who applied were admitted to public universities, compared with only 73.4% of STPM students.³ Even today, STPM students remain disadvantaged, despite taking a tougher exam.
The injustice is compounded by the existence of SATU and other paid entry schemes. Public universities now admit more students through paid channels than through the normal UPU system in some programmes. Hardworking STPM candidates are told there are no seats unless they can pay.
This is a betrayal of the very purpose of public universities. They are not supposed to be businesses or cash cows. They are meant to uplift Malaysians.
At the same time, public universities are allocating more seats to foreign students. Across Malaysia’s five research universities, 21.3% of enrolments are now international students. While most are postgraduates, the numbers still show that in some undergraduate programmes, foreign students make up nearly half the class.⁴
Malaysians cannot be asked to fund these institutions through taxes only to find their own children pushed aside.
The Ministry of Higher Education has highlighted that the number of STPM students admitted has doubled from 4,530 in 2018/19 to 8,612 in 2024/25.⁵ But this statistic is misleading. Many of these placements are in less demanded courses.
In critical areas like medicine, law, accounting and engineering, STPM students remain at a disadvantage compared with those entering through matriculation or paid schemes.
The government must act decisively to restore fairness and public confidence in our universities.
• Restore merit as the sole principle of entry. All seats should first go to Malaysians through the UPU merit channel. Paid entry schemes must be abolished.
• Publish transparent data. The Ministry must release detailed statistics by course, qualification type and entry channel, so the public can see whether admissions are truly fair.
• Cap foreign undergraduate intake. Internationalisation is welcome, but Malaysians must always come first in public universities.
• Balance STPM and matriculation pathways. If STPM is the tougher route, its candidates should not be penalised.
• Introduce a common entrance exam. This is the only way to ensure fairness across all pre-university streams.
If this system continues, we are telling our youth that money and shortcuts matter more than hard work and excellence. We are betraying the very students who sacrificed years for a fair shot at their future.
Public universities belong to the people. They were built with taxpayers’ money. They must return to their true purpose, which is to serve Malaysians, based on merit, not money. — September 22, 2025
References:
¹ “UPUOnline Results for Bachelor’s Degree 2025/2026 Academic Session,” StudyMalaysia.com (Sept 2025).
² “Public university admissions based on meritocracy, says Higher Education Ministry,” The Star (9 Sept 2025).
³ “STPM, matriculation entry into public universities: A statistical comparison,” Malaysiakini (July 2019).
⁴ “International admissions not sidelining locals, strengthen global standing, says Higher Education Ministry,” The Star (26 Aug 2025).
⁵ “Dr Wee demands clarity on STPM student intake data,” The Star (30 July 2025).
Ganabatirau Veraman is Member of Parliament for Klang