More transparency needed on university intake figures, says PKR MP
Published: Oct 12, 2025 10:30 AM
Updated: 1:30 PM
More transparency is still required on university intake figures for public universities, especially in addressing the discrepancy between STPM and matriculation students, said PKR MP Lee Chean Chung.
While he applauded Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s latest plans under Budget 2026 to add 1,500 university seats in public universities, the Petaling Jaya MP emphasised that the “real issue” was not just the number of university places, but the lack of transparency surrounding these figures.
“The real issue isn’t just the number of seats, it’s transparency. We need to know the actual intake breakdown between matriculation, asasi, STPM, and foundation students.
“Without transparent and consistent scoring systems, students and parents can’t plan their education pathways properly or understand what it truly takes to succeed,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He further explained that these 1,500 additional seats would be distributed across five universities and 10 different programmes - thus leaving only 30 additional seats for students from each programme.
According to Lee, only three percent of STPM candidates achieved a straight 4.0 CGPA, a stark contrast to 16 percent of matriculation students obtaining perfect scores.
Wong’s case
He also quoted the case of STPM leaver Edward Wong, who had scored 4.0 CGPA yet failed to enrol in Universiti Malaya’s accounting programme, as an example of “how competitive the system has become”.
Wong’s case
He also quoted the case of STPM leaver Edward Wong, who had scored 4.0 CGPA yet failed to enrol in Universiti Malaya’s accounting programme, as an example of “how competitive the system has become”.
STPM leaver Edward Wong
Wong’s case had gained nationwide traction, including from MCA president Wee Ka Siong, who similarly urged for more transparency within the nationwide university admissions system.
Advocacy groups had also urged the Higher Education Ministry to fully publicise the mechanisms and data used to distribute courses under the centralised public university admissions system (UPU) for each intake session.
His case also led to calls for the matriculation programme to be abolished in favour of STPM being set as a standardised entry requirement instead.
In his statement, Lee also reminded that on average, roughly 1,300 STPM students would score straight As each year, thus heightening the competition for limited places in public universities.
“Even if all the new seats were allocated to them, which is unrealistic, it would still be far from enough to meet the demand for critical programmes such as accounting, medicine, or engineering,” he added.
Free education
Alongside the additional 1,500 public university seats, Anwar also announced that Budget 2026 would include students from lower-income families being entitled to free tertiary education, funded by PTPTN.
Advocacy groups had also urged the Higher Education Ministry to fully publicise the mechanisms and data used to distribute courses under the centralised public university admissions system (UPU) for each intake session.
His case also led to calls for the matriculation programme to be abolished in favour of STPM being set as a standardised entry requirement instead.
In his statement, Lee also reminded that on average, roughly 1,300 STPM students would score straight As each year, thus heightening the competition for limited places in public universities.
“Even if all the new seats were allocated to them, which is unrealistic, it would still be far from enough to meet the demand for critical programmes such as accounting, medicine, or engineering,” he added.
Free education
Alongside the additional 1,500 public university seats, Anwar also announced that Budget 2026 would include students from lower-income families being entitled to free tertiary education, funded by PTPTN.
Further, PTPTN borrowers from low and middle-income families who graduate with first-class honours in a degree programme will also have their debts forgiven.
The government also announced plans to impose an international travel blacklist on PTPTN defaulters working abroad who were capable of paying their loans.
Budget 2026 also announced an increase of RM2 billion in funding for the Education Ministry, with RM64.2 billion being allocated for the upcoming year, in comparison to this year’s RM66.2 billion allocation.
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Malaysia's uni intake remains, and will remain for a long long time, a Gordian Knot requiring an Iskandar to untangle it.
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