Sin Chew Daily

The topic of recognizing Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), a public examination sat by independent Chinese school students, is back for discussion few months after Perikatan Nasional took over the federal government.

It was reported that during a recent meeting between Dr T.C. Goh, president of the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong), and prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, both the local Chinese community and the government would strive to seek a final consensus on the recognition of UEC based on further studies and win-win approach in accordance with the government's policy as well as the needs of the country.

The prime minister was quoted as saying: "If possible, I hope the government will ultimately recognize UEC, too."

This quote has caught the attention of many as it has offered a shimmer of hope for the local Chinese community.

However, the youth wing of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia was quick to clarify that the claim that the PM had said the government would eventually recognize UEC was made by Huazong, not the PM himself.

The federation subsequently denied that it had attributed the PM to the government recognizing UEC.

The Prime Minister's Office also issued a statement to deny that the UEC would be recognized by the government when the PM met Dr Goh.

The issue of UEC recognition is now back to square one!

UEC recognition has been put on hold from the times of Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Harapan. It was once depicted as the final leg of the long journey, but this last mile now seems to be an endless wait.

Chinese education activists are working very hard to bring UEC recognition to reality, but have been unable to make any real progress. The last leg of the journey during BN's time remained very much so under PH's rule. Now that Perikatan Nasional has taken over the federal administration, will UEC ever get to be recognized at all?

Judging from the academic and educational point of view, it is not difficult to recognize UEC as the certificate is widely accepted by universities overseas.

UEC faces the paradox not being recognized by the government as it is no longer an academic matter but a political one.

All parties should gauge the academic level of UEC based on its syllabus offered in school instead of prejudging the examination.

For example, Malaysian history in the history syllabus of Chinese independent schools was said to be unsatisfactory and failed to meet the requirements set by the government.

But the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia, or better known as Dong Zong, clarified that the local history content made up more than 50% of its history syllabus.

All parties should be tabulating the issues and work genuinely towards a consensus by eliminating any misunderstanding that stands the way.

But the issue of recognizing UEC is often met with emotional and political implications. Many are unable to look at the issues in a sensible and neutral manner.

The Pakatan Harapan government instructed the establishment of a UEC task force in October 2018 to produce a report to the cabinet for discussion. The report has not been released to this day.

Members of the UEC task force have conducted in-depth studies and collected the feedback from parties involved.

Task force chairman Eddin Khoo said if all relevant parties were unable to view the issue from a rational approach, he would not submit the report to the education ministry.

As a matter of fact, parties involved must look at this matter rationally and refrain from throwing in impertinent political and racial elements.

The final leg of the journey can only be completed with all parties viewing the UEC issue impartially from the educational point of view alone.