KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 10 -- For some Malaysian Chinese youths, deciding where to study after secondary school is not simply a matter of choosing a course or university.

Most of these choices are made through weighing how secure they feel about their chances of getting into their preferred programme.

In a research conducted by IMAN Research, they found that uncertainty over public university admissions, differences between pre-university pathways and concerns about access to certain courses had influenced how some the research participants approached their education.

In its recently published report, Kami Orang Sini Juga: Chinese Youths and Democratic Belonging - The Politics of Pragmatism and Fairness, draws on interviews with 116 Malaysi...