NEWLY elected Dong Zong chairman Tan Yew Sing has vowed to continue the fight to get the government to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), Sin Chew Daily reported.
Tan, who will serve as chairman until 2027, urged Pakatan Harapan leaders to uphold their promise to recognise the UEC.
He noted that Sarawak has recognised the UEC since 2014, allowing certificate holders to work in the state civil service, apply for scholarships from Yayasan Sarawak and gain entry into the state-owned University of Technology Sarawak.
“This is Dong Zong’s stance. We want Pakatan to recognise the UEC as soon as possible, since they now have the strength of a unity government,” said Tan, who was elected chairman on July 7, during Dong Zong’s 70th anniversary celebration on Saturday
Tan also pledged to advocate for more schoolteachers and increased government funding.
The UEC exam, taken by Form 6 students at Independent Chinese Schools, is considered equivalent to the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia by many foreign universities.
However, the UEC is not yet recognised by Malaysian public universities, forcing its graduates to either attend private universities or study abroad, with many opting for Taiwan or China.
> A man in Taiwan was sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing a Malaysian undergraduate in Keelung city in November last year, China Press reported.
A Keelung District Court judge said Chen Zhihong, 26, had little regard for human life.
According to the verdict, the victim Chen Wei Jie, 22, was a third-year undergraduate studying Marine Environmental Information.
Zhihong and another assailant, named Lin, attacked Wei Jie outside a karaoke joint in Keelung City following an argument in the establishment. While Lin injured Wei Jie, it was Zhihong stabbing Wei Jie’s thigh with a knife that caused him to bleed to death.
The prosecutor asked for severe punishment as Zhihong had a record, carried a knife wherever he went, and had a tendency for violent behaviour.
According to Wei Jie’s sister, who testified via teleconferencing, his death was a blow to their mother, who lost both her husband and son within a year.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
