A Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) graduate recently shared on Facebook about his frustration, saying he’s facing a “reality” that many others are going through too.
In the post, he wrote that after two tough years of pushing through STPM, he managed to graduate with a CGPA of 4.0, straight As, a 9.9/10 score in co-curricular activities, and an impressive 99.90% merit score.
“How can someone with a near-perfect score be rejected?”
With an almost perfect score, the student applied to six universities for a Bachelor’s in Accounting, but to his shock, he wasn’t offered a single spot. Instead, he was placed in a Management course, something he said was only his fifth choice and far from what he’s passionate about.
“For two whole years, I pushed myself through STPM. Subject after subject, essay after essay, endless drills and late nights. I believed STPM was a fair system, that if you worked hard, you’d succeed. That belief was what kept me going, even when people said STPM was too tough, too demanding, too long compared to other pathways,” he wrote.
He also shared that he had allegedly reached out to the universities he applied to, but the answers he received left him even more confused.
“Some said STPM, Matriculation, Asasi, and Diploma students all compete in the same pool. Others said they’re separate. If they’re truly separate, why was I, with 99.90% merit, denied Accounting? If they’re the same, how can someone with a near-perfect score be rejected across the board?”
“I still believe Malaysia can be fair to all”
The student later voiced his disappointment, questioning the system’s transparency and fairness.
“I’m not writing this just for myself, but for all the other STPM students who might face the same situation. If even a near-perfect student can be overlooked, what hope is there for the rest of us? What will happen to the future of STPM? I still believe in Malaysia, but fairness has to be shown through real action, not just empty words.”
Following the viral post, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) picked up the issue and called for reforms in Malaysia’s public university admission system.
In a statement, MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said the incident was unacceptable, warning that Malaysia could end up losing its brightest young talents to nearby countries like Singapore.
“If we don’t keep these talents, Singapore and others will gladly take them. In the end, it’ll be Malaysia’s loss. What’s the point of spending so much on TalentCorp to bring Malaysians back later if we can’t even retain them in the first place?” he said.
Wee also mentioned that he would bring up the matter with Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and urged the university to explain why the student was rejected through UPU but admitted under Satu.
“The government can’t let unfair practices like this continue. People need to have confidence in the university admission process,” he added.
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