Postpone Satu intake, suspend planned medical tuition hike until issues resolves, Dr Wee urges UM

The Star

4 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Malaya should postpone its intake under Saluran Terbuka Universiti Awam (Satu) and suspend the planned fee hike for its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and other medical courses, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
Raising serious concerns over accessibility and equity in public medical education, the MCA president urged the Higher Education Ministry to intervene immediately and protect the interests of students from low- and middle-income families, particularly those who failed to secure places through the Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU) centralised admission system.
'We are calling for an immediate halt to the Satu (Open Channel for Public Universities) intake until all the issues surrounding it are properly clarified and resolved.
"The proposed increase in MBBS fees to RM500,000 for the 2025/2026 intake is alarming and must be postponed,' he said during a press conference at Wisma MCA on Monday (24 June).
He added that similarly unreasonable fee hikes for other critical courses must also be held back.
The MCA released the "Position Paper on Two Channels, One Future: Ensuring Fair Access to Universiti Malaya's Medical Programmes and Other Critical Courses" on Tuesday (June 24), and made it available for public reading online.
The Ayer Hitam MP emphasised that the escalating fee burden of the Satu channel and the erosion of transparency in public university admissions is a matter of national concern, not only for the Chinese community but for all Malaysians who depend on public education as a vehicle for social mobility.
The party outlined five key recommendations to the government to ensure that underprivileged students, especially those in the B40 and M40 income groups, are not priced out of higher education opportunities at public universities.
The first recommendation calls for a freeze on the Satu intake and the associated fee increases, alongside an independent audit of the Satu structure to justify the significant cost disparities compared to other public and private institutions.
The MCA also demands transparency in the decision-making process behind the fee hikes.
'We need a clear explanation for why such a drastic fee increase is happening at a public university. Without transparency, this risks turning medical education into a privilege for the rich,' said Dr Wee.
The second recommendation focuses on transparency in admissions. The MCA is asking for the publication of student admission breakdowns by qualification type — such as Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), matriculation, foundation, and diploma — for high-demand programmes like medicine.
It also wants the algorithm used by the UPU to assess and standardise CGPAs to be made public, as well as an annual report on both Satu and UPU admissions and the allocation of resources for critical courses.
To address the issue of limited seat availability, the MCA's third proposal urges the expansion of subsidised UPU intakes for medicine and other essential fields.
Dr Wee also called for a review of national priorities under Budget 2026 and the 13th Malaysia Plan to allocate more funding for healthcare and education.
'Relying too heavily on fee-paying students through the Satu stream undermines the mission of public universities,' he said.
The MCA's fourth recommendation involves reforming the governance of the dual admission channels. It proposes establishing independent oversight over Satu admissions to prevent excessive commercialisation and ensure that meritocracy is upheld.
The party also suggests capping fee-paying intakes to preserve fairness in flagship programmes.
Lastly, Dr Wee stressed the need to address disparities in how different pre-university qualifications are evaluated.
He called for a review of the UPU assessment framework to ensure that students from the STPM route are not disadvantaged, noting that the academic rigour and duration of the STPM programme should be fairly acknowledged.
'These students deserve fair consideration. The system should not penalise them simply because of the path they took,' he said.
The proposed fee increase for Universiti Malaya's MBBS programme — from RM299,200 in 2024/2025 to RM500,000 in 2025/2026 — has sparked public outcry, with critics warning it will make medical education unattainable for most STPM and matriculation graduates unless they come from wealthy backgrounds.
The criteria for enrolment in Bachelor's Degree Programmes differs between the UPU and Satu channels. For UPU, applicants need a minimum CGPA of 3.00-3.80, with a higher threshold of 3.80 for competitive courses like MBBS.
Accepted qualifications include STPM, Matriculation, Asasi UM, or equivalents 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.
In contrast, 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.
In a March 2025 video, UMANY activist and Universiti Malaya Student Union (UMSU) student representative Lee Yu Dong highlighted that the MBBS programme's high costs risk entrenching inequality in access to professional degrees.
In another viral TikTok video posted around the same time, Jelyn Ong, Newgen activist and UMSU medical faculty student representative, warned that access to public medical education is being shaped by one's ability to pay rather than academic ability.