Pm Hopes For Government Recognition Of Uec Says Huazong

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Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin personally hopes that the government will one day recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), said the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong)
The association said the premier expressed this aspiration during a meeting with Huazong representatives at the Parliament building yesterday
In its statement today, the association 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
It said the prime minister told the meeting that the government and Chinese civil society groups could use national policies and current conditions as a foundation for further negotiation and study
This would lead to a win-win solution for all parties, said the statement, which added that Muhyiddin expressed hope the issue could be “deradicalized” and handled in a rational manner
It quoted Muhyiddin expressing his personal views that "If possible, I too hope the government would finally recognise UEC."According to the Huazong statement, the association's delegation yesterday was led by their chairperson Goh Tian Chuan to discuss national issues as well as issues affecting Chinese Malaysians
One of the issues raised was the longstanding demand for government recognition of the UEC
According to the statement, Muhyiddin joked that this would be a “thorny” issue to tackle, but since UEC already exists, the government would continue to study and discuss ways to manage the issue
Muhyiddin (above) supposedly said that during his tenure as education minister under the BN administration, the hardline stance taken by the United Chinese Schools Teachers' Association (Jiao Zong) and the United Chinese School Committees' Association (Dong Zong) made it difficult for the government to handle the issue
As such, Muhyiddin told the meeting that consensus can only be reached through a collaborative spirit that takes into account Malaysia’s policies and circumstances
According to the statement, Goh said Huazong fully supports Muhyiddin’s approach to resolving the impasse over UEC recognition and is willing to work with the government on the issue
The statement said Goh also presented Muhyiddin with a piece of Chinese calligraphy featuring this year’s Merdeka Day theme “Malaysia Cares” during the meeting
A photo of Muhyiddin holding the artwork together with Huazong representatives has been posted on his Facebook page, but this drew brickbats from netizens who accuse Huazong of disrespecting the national language
Muhyiddin was previously a member of the Pakatan Harapan administration before becoming prime minister in the events following the Sheraton Move in February
As part of its election pledges, Harapan promised that UEC examination results would be recognised for enrolment to public universities as long as students also obtain a credit in the SPM Bahasa Malaysia subject
The Harapan-led administration had set up a special taskforce to study the matter. The taskforce completed its report in January this year but did not submit it because the then education minister Maszlee Malik had resigned
There has been no word on the report since Perikatan Nasional took power. - Mkini

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