However, MCA president Wee Ka Siong stressed that a scholarship from the two institutions linked to his party should not be seen as the solution to the root problem of Wong’s case.

Wee said Wong, who scored a perfect 4.0 CGPA and 99.9% in co-curricular activities, believed he was entitled to a place in the country’s top public universities.

“He feels this is his constitutional right. With results like his, he should be eligible to enter the best university in the country. Why shouldn’t he fight for his rights? I respect that,” he told a press conference today.

Wee also cautioned that Malaysia risked losing top talent, as Wong might receive offers from universities abroad.

“At any time, I can tell you, he’ll get more offers. But are you saying that you’re willing to see Singapore attract these people to go over there? I don’t think this is the way,” he said.

Wong’s case gained public attention after Wee raised it at an initial press conference where he called the centralised UPU admission process “flawed” and “unfair”.

He noted that Wong was also accepted into the same UM accountancy course through open intake, but that the fee of RM83,800 was nearly 10 times higher than the RM8,300 UPU-subsidised route.

The higher education department subsequently clarified that Wong was ranked 1,129th among 2,291 eligible applicants for UM, while only 85 places for accountancy were available in his top choice university this year.

It said Wong was instead offered a place in a bachelor of management with honours programme at a leading research university, his fifth choice.