PM did not say govt will recognise UEC - PMO
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has never said that the government would recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in his recent meeting with the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong), the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) clarified.
In a statement today, PMO said the prime minister told Huazong that the previous administration had partially recognised the UEC by accepting UEC graduates into the Bachelor of Education teacher training programme (PISMP) Chinese language study in 2012.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has never said that the government would recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in his recent meeting with the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong), the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) clarified.
In a statement today, PMO said the prime minister told Huazong that the previous administration had partially recognised the UEC by accepting UEC graduates into the Bachelor of Education teacher training programme (PISMP) Chinese language study in 2012.
PMO said the UEC holders were accepted into the PISMP with condition that they should have received a merit for the Bahasa Malaysia subject in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
"The prime minister also stressed that the UEC should adhere to the national education policy if it wants (the matter) to be considered for a resolution in the future," it added.
PMO, however, stopped short at stating whether Muhyiddin had said during the meeting that he personally hoped the government would one day recognise the UEC, as claimed by Huazong.
Yesterday, Bersatu Youth Education spokesperson Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir said Muhyiddin had subtly rejected the idea of recognising the UEC.
Ashraf noted an attempt by several parties to incite racist sentiments and anger the Malays against Muhyiddin's leadership on this issue.
On July 17, a day after the meeting, Huazong released a statement on what transpired during the meeting.
Huazong had said that Muhyiddin expressed the government’s willingness to negotiate with Huazong and other Chinese civil society groups on the UEC issue but had urged all parties to understand the country’s policies and circumstances.
Yesterday, Huazong president Goh Tian Chuan (below) also clarified that Muhyiddin never mentioned that the government would recognise the UEC.
"I would like to stress, the prime minister, be it in the meeting nor via postings on social media, had not mentioned that the government would recognise the UEC," he said.
However, he pointed out that the government will still open its door on the negotiation as Muhyiddin viewed continuous negotiation positively.
He concluded that there was a good outcome in the meeting between Huazong and the prime minister.
Goh urged those who harboured an ulterior motive not to take things out of context.
The UEC, a standardised test for Chinese independent high school students since 1975, has been a political hot potato in Malaysia for decades.
For public service entrance, the UEC is generally not recognised, apart from exceptions such as the state civil services of Malacca and Sarawak. For Sarawak, this is on the condition that the candidate also passed the SPM Bahasa Malaysia examination.
The UEC was mentioned in both the BN and Pakatan Harapan election manifestoes for their 14th general election campaigns.
In 2019, BN Parit Raja assemblyperson Nor Rashidah Ramli sought an explanation on the policy of accepting UEC holders for the PISMP programme.
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