YOURSAY | ‘Ultimately, it’s an irrelevant report from an irrelevant committee.’

Teo faces fire from ex-UEC task force chair, rejects 'provocateur' charge

Hassan: Let’s call a spade a spade.

The Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) task force committee was purely window dressing, and former chairperson Eddin Khoo was (perhaps unwittingly) part of that show.

The committee was set up to create the appearance that “something is being done”.

The committee exists so politicians can say, “The committee is looking into it.” And if there are delays, they can claim, “We are waiting for the committee” - a convenient scapegoat.

The committee was never intended to produce real change. No one asked Khoo for the report because no one actually cared.

In fact, if the report were ever finalised, the committee would lose its political utility - no more scapegoat, no more excuse to claim “it’s being studied”.

Politicians have every reason to keep the report delayed.

Khoo’s ego also helps: he expected to be asked for the report, felt insulted when he wasn’t, and sat on it - exactly what politicians want, giving them a reason to hide it even longer.

The longer it remains buried, the easier it is for them to avoid headaches.

Ultimately, it’s an irrelevant report from an irrelevant committee. With or without Khoo or the committee, they had zero impact on the UEC issue.

They were and are completely irrelevant to the UEC discussion.

In the end, it was the Sabah voters who, unintentionally, helped push the UEC issue forward.

Aponakdikato: I would think that if you were to accept the responsibility of preparing a report as the UEC task force chairperson, Khoo must first and foremost see what his obligations are, who he reports to, and when to do so.

If this was not clearly defined in the first place, why on Earth did he accept the responsibility?

After spending two years working on it, and I believe some taxpayers’ money must have been spent in the process, and then blaming that no one asked for it, is downright irresponsible of him.

He is duty-bound to submit it.

Milshah: When this country was founded, the Federal Constitution clearly laid out the fundamentals of the nation - Malay and non-Malay rights, citizenship, the form of government, the official language, the official religion, the role of government, royalties, and the position of the prime minister. Nothing here was accidental.

Education was also part of this nation-building framework. For unity, the government established a national education system.

If you want certificates that are officially recognised by the government, you go through national schools.

Other forms of education are allowed, but they were never meant to carry the same recognition.

This was a deliberate policy choice to encourage a single, common education pathway.

Today, some want to change this arrangement by recognising vernacular school certificates, specifically the UEC.

The UEC is not conducted in Bahasa Malaysia. It follows a foreign curriculum.

(Bahasa Malaysia)

It does not adhere to the National Education Policy. Recognising it would effectively create a dual education system, running parallel to national schools.

This is not a small technical adjustment - it alters a foundational arrangement.

In 1957, citizenship was granted to over one million non-Malays as part of a historic compromise.

Now, are we being asked to make another major concession by granting equal recognition to a parallel education system as well?

Where does this end?

These are not emotional questions. There are questions about national direction, social cohesion, and the long-term consequences of policy decisions.

Ultimately, this is a decision for Malaysia to make, based on what kind of nation we want to be.

VioletOrca0545: I am Chinese, but I wholeheartedly admit I do not support UEC.

UEC should just be treated like studying at an international school. Do you want to study it? Fine, but don’t come complaining when you can’t get into a local university or get a local job.

You could follow the guidelines and do your SPM as well. Stop all this rubbish about poor Chinese students who can’t afford to go overseas to study, and also can’t get into a local university.

It should be a conscious decision the day you decide to enrol your child in UEC.

It’s like someone who decides to buy a second-hand luxury car and later on complains about the high maintenance cost.

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students in national-type schools (SK) and national-type Chinese primary schools (SJKC) deserve those places more than UEC students.

SK and SJKC students believe in the national system, place their trust in the national system and deserve their place in national universities.

If Dong Zong wants to support UEC, then support all students who can’t find a university once they complete their studies as well.

Dong Zong shouldn’t represent the Chinese community and portray themselves as champions of our cause.

Malqysian: Why do students take the UEC?It offers them ample opportunities (outside of Malaysia) to get a university/college education.

The reality is that there is a rigid racial university entrance quota system. Thus, many outstanding students are not admitted, especially for critical courses like medicine, law, engineering and so on.

If the “playing field” for admission to Malaysian universities and colleges is based on meritocracy, then by all means, scrap the UEC!

Wah Gor Your Favorite PM: UEC is a nothing burger. It’s not reform. It benefits a very narrow segment of the population who would have brain-drained or found other jobs anyway.

UEC’s power does not lie in its official status but in its education system and network.

I can’t imagine ethnic Chinese graduates wanting to become government servants and play civil office politics.

NoobMaster69: “When asked about the UEC task force’s report, which was never submitted, Khoo said that this was because ‘nobody asked to submit the report’.”

This proves the kind of mindset Khoo has. I believe he got paid to do his job. Can UEC not pay him if he didn’t ask? Just thinking.

Casualuser@NoobMaster69: This line should be the headline. He keeps complaining that nobody is taking the initiative to ask for the report, but he himself could not take the initiative to submit the report?

Fair888: Khoo is so inefficient that he cannot finish the job that was given to him by former education minister Maszlee Malik, and now he is trying to shift his responsibility by blaming current Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching, who was previously the deputy education minister.

Khoo should be a gentleman by owning up to his weakness and keeping quiet.

Csk: If the report has been completed, the whole committee would have arranged for it to be presented to the Education Ministry.

Obviously, he did not even finish writing the report.

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