JOHOR BARU: The move to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) as an entryway to public universities is not a threat to Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister described such claims as “lies” as the acceptance of the UEC was part of an election manifesto accepted by PAS and Bersatu when they were part of Pakatan Rakyat and Pakatan Harapan, respectively.
He said the government often faces backlash on any decision it makes, including the move to provide automatic matriculation spots for SPM students who scored 10A’s.
Addressing the national Pakatan Harapan Convention yesterday, Anwar said there should be an element of give and take when it comes to the UEC.
“There is the condition that UEC students must pass SPM Bahasa Melayu and History. So when they gave their cooperation, we should provide some leeway,” he said.
Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir told Bernama that the government is adopting a balanced, inclusive and responsible approach in its efforts to expand access to national higher education as part of building a common meeting point for Malaysia’s diverse society.
He said the commitment must nevertheless remain aligned with efforts to uphold the foundations of the National Education Policy and the National Education Philosophy.
According to him, in a sovereign nation, the education system cannot be viewed merely through the lens of academic demands, the interests of certain groups or narrow identity considerations.
“It also encompasses nation-building, the strengthening of unity and the promotion of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, alongside a deeper understanding of Malaysia’s history and the essence of its nationhood.
“For this reason, the government cannot alter the foundations of the national education system simply to satisfy the demands of any particular educational stream.”
He was responding to a Friday statement by the Federation of Malaysian Chinese School Management Associations (Dong Zong) which claimed that the government had failed to reflect educational justice on UEC graduates.
Zambry clarified that the existing mechanism—which allows UEC holders to apply to public universities specifically for Chinese language and literature programmes—requires a credit in SPM Bahasa Melayu and a pass in History. He stressed this compromise should not be labelled as a systemic flaw as alleged by Dong Zong.
On the contrary, he said the move reflected an inclusive and responsible approach that respected the framework of the National Education Policy.
“In this regard, the position of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language and History as the foundation of nationhood cannot be compromised.
“These principles must be implemented consistently and cannot change simply because of political pressure or demands from any party.”
