Rural development minister Mahdzir Khalid said all students, regardless of the type of school they came from, would be allowed to apply to enter the colleges.

The 10% quota for non-Bumiputeras would also remain, he said.

He said the decision to retain the policy was in line with the “Keluarga Malaysia” concept that the government is espousing.

According to the MRSM website, entry to the first and fourth forms for the 2022 term would be open only to those in national schools, a move that has sparked criticism.

“The proposed changes which were announced before this are invalid,” he said in a statement.

“Their eligibility and selection would be based on the Ujian Kecenderungan Kemasukan MRSM,” he said, referring to the entry tests that would evaluate the students’ interests and aptitude.

Mahdzir went on to say that more than 77,000 had applied for a place in Form 1 and 24,000 in Form 4 for the 2022 term.

However, the colleges could only accommodate 7,500 Form 1 students and 2,000 for Form 4.

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