Dr Wee: UM medical tuition hike a barrier for qualified B40 students
KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Malaya's medical tuition fees, which have gone up for the 2025/2026 intake, have come under fire by student unions and MCA.
'The sharp hike risks shutting out academically qualified but poor B40 students from pursuing degrees in medicine and other critical fields,' said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
'Are we now saying that children from less privileged backgrounds do not deserve to become doctors or pursue critical fields? Is the medical profession now reserved exclusively for the wealthy?' he asked during a press conference yesterday.
Tuition fees for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme have increased to RM500,000 for the 2025/2026 intake. This marks a jump from RM299,200 in the 2024/2025 session.
These numbers were provided in a video from three months ago by Universiti Malaya Student Union (UMSU) student representative Lee Yu Dong, who is also an activist with the University Malaya Association of New Youth.
Lee said that the high costs could lead to inequality in access to professional degrees.
In another TikTok video posted around the same time, Jelyn Ong, who is a UMSU medical faculty student representative, said that access to public medical education is being shaped by one's ability to pay instead of academic performance.
Speaking up: Dr Wee (seated, second from right) urging the government to uphold education rights for B40 children at a press conference. Also present were Chong (seated, second from left), Wong (right), and Leong (left). — LOW BOON TAT/The Star
Dr Wee said yesterday that MCA was concerned about recent developments in Malaysia's higher education landscape, especially policies that appear to marginalise children from low-income families.
'It is disheartening that public universities are being seen as increasingly selective towards students from high-income families. This raises questions about the fairness of the meritocracy we claim to uphold,' he said.
He also took issue with UM's admission channel known as Saluran Terbuka Universiti Malaya (Satu).
According to him, students who secured a place via UPU – the centralised government admission platform – are charged only RM15,000 for the same five-year programme.
The Satu channel is an alternative pathway for students to apply directly to UM, bypassing the primary UPU system used by Malaysia's public universities.
It caters to students who missed the UPU deadline, were not offered a place or wished to apply with alternative qualifications like A-Levels or diplomas.
The criteria for enrolment in degree programmes differ between UPU and Satu channels. For UPU, applicants need a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.00-3.80, with a higher threshold of 3.80 for competitive courses like MBBS.
Accepted qualifications include Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), Matriculation, Asasi UM, or equivalent such as A-Levels with AAA grades or IB with 36 points. Additionally, candidates must meet specific subject requirements, such as an A- in Biology, Chemistry and Physics/Mathematics for MBBS.
Satu maintains similar academic standards but offers flexibility for non-current-year qualifications. For Malaysians applying to MBBS through Satu, a CGPA of 3.80 is required.
Referring to UM's annual reports, Dr Wee pointed out that enrolment through Satu had risen from just 142 in 2018 to 399 in 2022.
Citing data from the Higher Education Ministry, he said that nearly 60% of applicants to public universities in 2022 came from B40 households.
'What kind of message are we sending to this majority? That unless you can pay half a million ringgit, you have no future in medicine?' he asked.
He warned that academic performance alone may no longer guarantee a place at public universities if wealth becomes the new gatekeeper.
Also present at yesterday's press conference were MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon, Wanita MCA chairperson Datuk Wong You Fong, and committee member Datuk Leong Kok Wee.
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