PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has assured that Pakatan Harapan's plans to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) will not undermine the importance of Malay as the national language.

Anwar said in his conversations with Chinese education figures, the topic of learning the Malay language was not an issue.

"We cannot neglect the position of Bahasa Melayu in the education system and the mastery of it in any system.

"In my conversations with Chinese education figures, they assured that this was not a problem for them," Anwar told Astro Awani last night.

The Harapan manifesto pledged that the UEC can be used for entry into public higher education institutions "provided that applicants have a credit in Bahasa Melayu at the SPM level."

The UEC, which is issued to graduates of Chinese independent high schools, is currently recognised by local private higher education institutions and many universities overseas, as well as the Sarawak government.

The Malacca state government has also recognised the UEC for entry into the state civil service.