Wee: Lack of data fuelling concerns over varsity enrolment

The Star

2 days ago

Proud moment: Tang Jian Hao, who was awarded the Best Student of the Year 2024, posing with his father Tang Wei Heng and mother Rui Xian Kong. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: There is a lack of accessible and comprehensive data on the proportion of local versus international student enrolment in public universities, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
In calling out the government, the MCA president claimed that the absence of clear data is fuelling concerns that bright local students are being edged out by the rising percentage of international student intakes.
'You're the government now, but why is it so hard to obtain this data? Government data is not easily accessible, and that's the biggest problem,' he said after attending VTAR Institute's 27th convocation ceremony yesterday.
Dr Wee warned that the 'commercialisation' of public university placements, coupled with the rise in foreign enrolments, risked side-lining Malaysian talent, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds.
Public universities, he said, should primarily serve as engines for nurturing homegrown talent and driving social mobility, not as revenue-generating enterprises.
He urged the government to properly fund public universities rather than rely on increased tuition fees, noting that Universiti Malaya received only 61% of the funding it had requested.
Due to the lack of official data, Dr Wee said MCA's research think-tank had compiled enrolment figures from each public university over the past six years.
He challenged his critics to produce their own figures if they disputed his claims, stressing that his statements in Parliament were backed by evidence.
'When I speak, I do so with facts. If you say my data is incomplete, then show yours, so the truth becomes clearer through debate,' he said.
On Friday, Ipoh Timor MP Howard Lee accused Dr Wee of trying to paint public universities in a negative light.
Lee claimed there were 7,930 Chinese nationals and 41,176 Malaysian undergraduates of Chinese descent in public universities but did not cite his source.
He also urged Dr Wee to apologise in Parliament for 'lying' about Chinese nationals outnumbering local students in public universities.
Reiterating his commitment to advocating for equitable access to education for all Malaysians regardless of their financial background, Dr Wee said he would fight against the commercialisation of public university placements for revenue.
'In my lifetime, I will fight against this. We were also from poor backgrounds. This should not happen. Silence is not an option.'
On Wednesday, Dr Wee cited an Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research study showing Malaysian student enrolment in public universities grew modestly from 172,719 in 2018 to 191,450 in 2024, a 10.8% rise, while foreign enrolment nearly doubled from 10,003 to 19,731 in the same period.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir recently responded to Dr Wee, stating that the government continues to prioritise Malaysians, with no compromise on the quotas allocated for local students in public universities.
MCA then urged Zambry to make full admissions data public, adding that the intake of foreign students must not come at the expense of local students.