PETALING JAYA: The Education Ministry will hold discussions with the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) soon on the implementation of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Bahasa Melayu and History pass requirements for Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) candidates.
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh announced this in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 21).
On Tuesday (Jan 20), the Prime Minister announced new requirements linked to UEC, independent and international schools, saying that they would be required to sit for Bahasa Melayu and History at the SPM level.
He also announced that Malaysian students taking the UEC would be required to meet and pass SPM requirements for Bahasa Melayu and History as part of the National Education Development Plan 2026–2035.
Following that, the Education Ministry is exploring a major reform to allow candidates to sit for only the Bahasa Melayu and History in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
Since then, Dong Zong has welcomed further discussions with the Education Ministry to clarify how the policy would be implemented.
“The ministry has never mandated students from independent Chinese secondary schools or other non-national education systems to automatically register for all six compulsory SPM subjects,” said Wong.
“Under existing regulations, any candidate who wishes to sit for the SPM examination must register for at least six compulsory subjects, regardless of whether they come from government schools, private institutions or are individual candidates.
“To obtain the SPM certificate, candidates must also pass Bahasa Melayu and History," he said.
Wong added that the ministry would take further action to explore allowing candidates to register for only the Bahasa Melayu and History without having to sit for the other four compulsory subjects after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement.
“This will be a major institutional reform that has been discussed in society for many years,” he said.
