Presented by Datuk Seri Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong, President of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
Executive Summary
Despite a standardised reporting of academic achievement for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination every year which included A+, A and A- as part of Grade A category, the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) recent ad-hoc redefinition of Grade A category for the 2024 examination, specifically, the exclusion of the A- grade, has triggered widespread concern.
This abrupt and non-transparent move has raised questions of the quality and merit of A- this year, in comparison to previous years, and undermined the Government’s previously declared commitment to meritocracy, particularly the policy announced by Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim on 30 June 2024, guaranteeing automatic matriculation placement for all students achieving 10As or more.
This shift in policy and change in grading for matriculation enrolment, which itself has been confirmed by the Deputy Minister of Education via a Facebook posting on 9 May 2025, has jeopardised the future of high-performing students across all ethnicities and socioeconomic groups, who planned their education paths under different considerations.
Furthermore, since last year, the Government has yet to address the continued exclusion of students, who achieved a result of straight 9 A+ in all subjects, from being considered for automatic enrolment into matriculation despite being the pinnacle of academic excellence.
The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) is deeply concerned about the ad-hoc changes to the national grading and examination as well as matriculation enrolment policies. The exclusion of A- from Grade A category appears to be administratively implemented without public consultation.
The abrupt policy change represents an unjust and administratively-driven decision on an ad-hoc basis that violates principles of fairness, transparency and merit-based progression. It has wide-ranging consequences, from educational disruptions and emotional distress to potential erosion of public trust in Malaysia’s national examination system.
MCA calls for the immediate reversal of this policy, proper clarification by the Minister of Education and the institution of safeguards to prevent such arbitrary grading redefinitions in the future.
Drawing from the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP)’s research, this paper outlines MCA’s position, highlights the critical issues involved with data and proposes comprehensive policy reforms for long-term impact.