JOHOR BARU: The government's move to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) as a pathway to public universities does not threaten the status of Malay as the national language, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said such claims were lies as this was part of election manifestos accepted by PAS and Bersatu when they were part of Pakatan Rakyat and Pakatan Harapan respectively.
"I do not want to prolong this issue.
"I used to disagree with the matter due to weak national sentiment in a handful of Chinese schools. But that was 40 or 50 years ago.
"Now, more than 80% of UEC students sit for the SPM," he said at the Pakatan Convention here on Sunday (May 17).
Anwar said there should be an element of give and take.
"The condition is that UEC students must pass SPM Bahasa Melayu and History. When they have given their cooperation, we should provide some leeway," he said.
He said the government faces backlash on whatever decision is made, including providing automatic Matriculation spots for SPM students who scored 10As.
