Wee challenges UM to provide ‘accurate’ admissions data

 UM vice-chancellor Noor Azuan Abu Osman said last week data MCA president Wee Ka Siong cited on increased admissions through the Satu stream was ‘misleading’.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said his data on UM admissions was taken from the university’s annual report and parliamentary replies by the higher education minister.

PETALING JAYA:

 MCA president Wee Ka Siong has called on Universiti Malaya to provide proper information to disprove his claims of inequality in its dual admissions process.

Last Friday, UM vice-chancellor Noor Azuan Abu Osman dismissed Wee’s allegation and said the data he cited regarding increased undergraduate admissions through the “Satu” open channel from 2018 to 2022 was “misleading”.

In a Facebook video today, Wee said his data was derived from UM’s annual report and parliamentary replies by the higher education minister.

“I’m disappointed that the vice-chancellor did not address my questions.

“If you say I do not have accurate data, then provide it. It is as simple as that,” he said.

Wee said fees for UM’s bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery (MBBS) programme through the Satu route was RM500,000 for the 2025/2026 intake, a 67% increase from RM300,000 last year.

The MBBS course only costs about RM15,000 annually for the five academic years if students are selected through the UPUOnline process, he said.

In his video, Wee also claimed to have evidence that a top-performing student, who was denied entry to UM’s MBBS programme through the UPUOnline system, was then offered a place via the Satu system.

“I challenge the university to provide an answer on whether students who are unable to get a place through the UPUOnline system are then offered places through Satu,” he said.

On Tuesday, MCA called for a suspension of UM’s MBBS intake for the 2025/2026 session until the higher education ministry reviews its admissions mechanism.

Wee launched a position paper by MCA on the matter in which the party said the apparent selectiveness in UM’s student admissions raised questions about meritocracy in the process.

In the paper, MCA said the availability of the two parallel channels reinforced inequality as lower-income students could only apply via UPU, while those with more funds could afford Satu’s higher fees. - FMT