Uec A Priority Mah Asks For More Time

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MCA deputy president Dr Mah Hang Soon today refused to state whether he would pursue government recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate as deputy education minister
After being sworn-in as a senator this morning, Mah (above) was asked three times by reporters on the matter and dodged the topic
Reporter: Previously MCA said they were on the last mile for UEC recognition. Do you see hope since MCA is back (in power)
Mah: To me, whatever has been said... My focus now is to, well, focus on my job. Like I said, I'm not someone who likes to talk a lot. Those who know me know that I'm the one who prefers to focus on my job. So give me some time
Reporter: Will UEC be your top priority
Mah: Give me some time. I need to... Number one, to get to know this job description first and I will certainly give my utmost, my best
Reporter: Do you think you can do what (your predecessor) Teo Nie Ching could not do in regard to the UEC issue
Mah: Let's not deal with other issues. Give me some time. Let me get on the job and we will see. Thank you very much. I will certainly do my best to assist my boss, the education minister, in delivering our mission and vision
UEC is a British A-level equivalent examination that is used in Chinese private secondary schools that are governed by Dong Zong
Although this certificate is recognised by many premier universities around the world, it is not recognised by public universities in Malaysia
Both MCA and Pakatan Harapan had promised to address this. However, after winning the 2018 elections Harapan appeared to have dithered on the idea
Opponents of the UEC argued that the certificate was invalid because it did not comply with government education syllabus while proponents said public universities were already accepting foreigners with other qualifications
Mah is one of two deputy education ministers, with the other being Bersatu's Muslimin Yahaya. The education minister is Mohd Radzi Md Jidin, who is also one of four senior cabinet ministers
Meanwhile, Mah said the deputy minister job was very difficult and the subject matter was new to him
"This is a very important ministry. Education is very important to our country," he added
Mah was previously a one-and-a-half term member of the Perak cabinet. He was once a practising cardiologist. - Mkini

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