Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has declared that the long-standing controversy over recognising the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) should no longer persist, now that Bahasa Malaysia and history subjects have been made compulsory for students seeking entry into higher education.

Anwar said the circumstances surrounding the UEC debate had fundamentally changed, with the vast majority of students from Chinese independent schools already sitting for the SPM Bahasa Malaysia paper alongside their UEC qualifications.