A father recently expressed his frustration online after discovering that his son was allegedly denied the opportunity to apply for his chosen university courses due to having autism.
Taking to Facebook, the father claimed that his son, only known as Aniq, achieved an impressive CGPA of 3.83 in his matriculation studies and had met both the general and programme-specific requirements.
“He applied confidently. His dream fields were Computer Science, Mathematical Sciences, and Statistics at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia — fields that demand critical thinking. Aniq knew exactly where he wanted to go. He was ready.
“But when (the third phase) opened… all the options he had worked so hard for did not appear,” he wrote.
Upon seeing this, Aniq and his family contacted the Malaysian University Admissions Unit (UPU) via email — only to receive a “disappointing” response, which allegedly stated that he was not eligible to apply for the courses due to being an OKU (Persons with Disabilities) cardholder for autism.
“What’s the logic behind denying this child a chance — simply because of his disability status, when academically, he is more than qualified?
“Does the current system still see disabled individuals as a burden rather than as people with potential?” Aniq’s father questioned.
He then urged UPU to review its eligibility policy for students with disabilities.
In a follow-up Facebook post, Aniq’s father shared several suggestions for how UPU could improve its application process, particularly for OKU students.
Among his suggestions was for UPU to conduct early briefings for OKU students at matriculation colleges or foundation centres before the application process begins.
He also recommended that UPU provide clear and accessible information about special admission pathways for students with disabilities on its website, noting that he had been unable to find any relevant links or sections.
“Making this information accessible would help OKU applicants understand how to apply through the correct channels,” he added.
A quick check on the Ministry of Higher Education’s official Facebook page revealed that there are indeed special admission pathways for four target groups, including students with disabilities and graduates from institutions under the Social Welfare Department (JKM).
The other three groups include students from B40 households, Orang Asli communities, and athletes.