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 its 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.

Timely for all to support

The deputy prime minister had suggested that the Education Ministry should do a serious study and proposal to the cabinet to provide a solution to resolve the issue once and for all. This is indeed a laudable move and timely for all to support.

Now is the time for all political parties, especially the opposition parties in Harapan, to band together to provide political support to the Barisan Nasional government and the prime minister and cabinet to provide a political solution to this issue once and for all.

It is now the right time for DAP and Lim Kit Siang (photo) to walk their talk. DAP and Lim must show their effectiveness in Pakatan by getting Pakatan to support CEC’s approval and recognition. Otherwise, it just goes to show that DAP is all talk and no walk. In other words, DAP was just merely paying lip service or exploiting political issues all along, with no desire for the issue to be resolved politically.

I believe Mahathir, being a founder or former patron of Perkasa, can still exert his influence over Perkasa. Once he voices his support for UEC’s recognition, the political hurdles will be cleared and no one’s going to start a “war” or hold the government for ransom. The UEC’s recognition will be a progressive step forward for all.

Lim Kit Siang or DAP’s continued silence at this juncture will merely confirm that they have agreed to Muhyiddin Yassin’s assertion that Pakatan (if elected) will not even consider the UEC recognition as reported in The Star on Jan 10 this year:

“Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has warned that no one should expect the Pakatan Harapan opposition coalition to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) if it comes to power in the next general election.”

TI LIAN KER is the chairperson of the MCA Religious Harmony Bureau.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.