PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir has chided his Cabinet colleague Nga Kor Ming over the latter's statement on the UEC issue.
The Higher Education Minister said that Nga, the Housing and Local Government Minister, had overstepped by publicly criticising Zambry's ministry over the issue.
"I view this seriously and condemn the irresponsible statement by Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming criticising and labelling the Higher Education Ministry as "slow like a tortoise" on the implementation of the decision on the university admission pathway for Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) holders.
I wish to stress that every decision taken by the Cabinet is a joint decision based on the principle of collective responsibility. It will be followed up with thorough action and a collaborative process with the Education Ministry and other relevant agencies.
If there is any difference in opinions, the place to discuss it is at the Cabinet level, not via open statements that do not respect the Cabinet's governance," he said in a statement on Friday (July 10).
In May, Higher Education director-general Datuk Prof Dr Azlinda Azman announced that students from UEC, tahfiz and other non-mainstream education streams are allowed to apply to public universities (IPTA) through two separate admission routes.
She had said the ministry’s move was not about restricting access for UEC holders, but to introduce an additional admission pathway to widen opportunities for students outside the national education system.
She had said there are currently two separate admission routes for entry into IPTA.
“The first route applies to students from UEC, tahfiz or private school backgrounds who also possess a full Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) certificate.
“These students may continue applying through the existing UPU Online system, and will be assessed based on SPM merit, programme requirements and university criteria.
“They can apply for any programme subject to their decision. There is no discrimination, no bias,” she had said.
Under this route, admission decisions are based entirely on SPM results, with the UEC qualification not being used as the primary basis for selection.
