Loke Says Pm Didn T Reject Uec Bid Umno Youth Throws Court Dare

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DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke clarified that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has not rejected the proposal to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC). 
He noted that media reports suggesting otherwise were inconsistent with the preliminary progress being made through internal channels.
Loke said that DAP will continue to push for UEC recognition via internal government channels.
Based on a video recording obtained by Malaysiakini of Loke’s remarks, the DAP leader stated that certain media had reported that Anwar rejected UEC recognition, which led to misunderstanding.
“Some (reports) had headlines saying he rejected or opposed the UEC, (but) based on our understanding and discussions with the prime minister, such reports were inaccurate,” he said.
According to Loke, the prime minister’s intended message was that any recognition of the UEC must comply with the constitution while also strengthening proficiency in the Malay language.
He said that based on the preliminary internal consensus reached between DAP and Anwar, strengthening the language proficiency of citizens is a major prerequisite that must be addressed concurrently.
“That’s why I mentioned before that Anwar has agreed to announce a new language policy in the near term to strengthen our (citizens’) mastery of the national language, English, Chinese, and also Tamil. So, this is a new policy being introduced to address multi-language proficiency,” he added.
‘UEC meets preconditions’
Loke also believes that the two preconditions mentioned by Anwar do not contradict the recognition of the UEC.
He pointed out that the UEC does not violate the Federal Constitution because if it were unconstitutional, Chinese Independent High Schools would not have existed for the past few decades.
“In fact, these schools have existed in Malaysia for decades. Over the past decades, students have also obtained their diplomas via the UEC. Therefore, the UEC fundamentally does not violate the constitution,” he added.
Secondly, Loke pointed out that the UEC includes the national language subject, so the current discussion is only about how to further strengthen UEC candidates’ mastery of Bahasa Malaysia.
“So, someone proposed the condition that to recognise the UEC, (candidates) must also achieve a credit in the SPM Malay language subject.
“Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees’ Association) has essentially agreed to this condition, as many Chinese independent high school students now sit for the SPM concurrently,” he added.
Furthermore, Loke said that many, including those from other ethnic groups, do not understand the definition of “recognising the UEC”.
“Recognising the UEC does not mean turning the Chinese independent high schools into government schools. The most important definition of recognising the UEC is that the UEC diploma can be accepted as a qualification for admission to national universities.
“This point is similar to other international qualifications, such as the A Levels, or diplomas from certain other countries, which can all be accepted for admission to our national universities.
“Therefore, I believe that the UEC issue must be clearly discussed within the government or the cabinet before there can be a clear direction and a final decision,” he added, noting that stirring up the issue in the media will not solve the matter.
‘Let court be final arbiter’
Meanwhile, Johor Umno Youth has challenged DAP to take the matter to court to determine if the UEC is in line with the constitution.
The wing’s chief, Noor Azleen Ambros, said Johor Umno regretted that DAP continues to use the issue of national unity and education as a “tool for narrow and seasonal political games”.
To put an end to the protracted debate over the matter, he said DAP should turn to the courts for a final verdict.
Noor Azleen Ambros“Should the court decide that the UEC is in line with the constitution and fulfils the national aspirations and policies in the field of education, there would be no further reason for the government to delay the recognition of the UEC.
“The decision will put an end to all controversies surrounding the UEC, allowing the government and all parties to fully focus on more urgent issues in strengthening and improving the nation’s education system,” he added.
Previously, national Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh firmly opposed recognition of the UEC, warning that there would be no compromise on the issue.
Yesterday, Anwar, when commenting on the debate, emphasised that any language demands from a single ethnic group must first respect the constitutional status of Malay as the national language.
He further stated that, after honouring and mastering the Malay language, “we can then discuss other matters.”
In 2018, after Harapan defeated BN in the 14th general election, Anwar had said that recognising the UEC would not undermine the national language.
“We cannot neglect the position of Bahasa Malaysia in the education system and the mastery of it in any system. In my conversations with Chinese education figures, they assured me that this was not a problem for them,” he added. - Mkini

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