COMMENT | Perkasa is an extreme right movement, of which Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad was a patron. It would be interesting to read Mahathir’s thoughts on Perkasa’s declared “war” against the government if the cabinet decides to recognise the Unified Examinations Certificate (UEC).

Now that Mahathir is a partner sharing a common political platform with DAP, Mahathir should come out and openly support the government and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s proposal to seriously consider the recognition and acceptance of the UEC. This will facilitate the government in resolving this long outstanding issue faced on the recognition of the UEC since Mahathir’s days as prime minister for 22 years.

Now that Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PPBB) of Sarawak has openly supported the recognition of UEC and the government is seriously considering its recognition, DAP and its supremo Lim Kit Siang should convince their partners, in particular both Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim, who has absolute control of Bersatu and PKR, to come out openly to support the government and remove all political ransoms or obstacles, particularly from extreme movements like Perkasa.

The political litmus test of Mahathir’s Bersatu and Anwar’s PKR sincerity to DAP and DAP’s political will on this issue is now! Who is Perkasa to politicise this issue if politicians from both political divides can put aside their political rivalry and agree on this fundamental principle that education should not be politicised and a correct decision be made in the interest of education !

The UEC is recognised by top universities around the world, such as California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Oxford University, University of Cambridge, University of Toronto and the National University of Singapore (NUS), among others, and thus there should not be any further political hurdles for its recognition...