Dennis Ignatius
~ Provoking discussion, dissent & debate on politics, diplomacy, human rights & civil society.
The UEC Is Not the Problem, Racism Is
19FridayDec 2025
Posted in education, Multiculturalism, national unity, Politics, racism
[1] Just a few weeks ago, the Ministry of National Unity was showcasing its achievements for 2025. Officials spoke earnestly of stepped-up efforts “to nurture a society that values understanding, respect, acceptance and the celebration of diversity.” Under the banner Harmony in Diversity, the year was filled with interfaith dialogues, unity carnivals and harmony parades.[1]
[2] But no amount of well-meaning programmes can manufacture social cohesion when racism remains deeply embedded in the political and institutional fabric of the state.
[3] Nothing illustrates the fragility of race relations in Malaysia more starkly than the long-festering controversy over the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), issued by the Chinese independent school system. What should have remained a simple administrative matter has instead become a recurring national crisis, routinely weaponised to inflame fears about national identity and cohesion. This despite the fact that both Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional pledged to recognise the UEC at one time or another.
[4] The UEC is already recognised by most Malaysian private institutions and by universities in countries as far afield as the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. It is also accepted in Sarawak and Selangor[2]for entry into state-run universities and the state civil service. In other words, its academic legitimacy is not in serious dispute — locally or internationally.
[5] Malaysia, moreover, already operates a hybrid education system. International schools coexist alongside national, vernacular and religious schools. By some accounts, Malaysia has more international schools — most of them using English as the medium of instruction — than any other ASEAN country. In accordance with Ministry of Education requirements, Bahasa Malaysia is taught as a compulsory subject to Malaysian students in these schools. Graduates leave with qualifications ranging from the local STPM to Cambridge IGCSEs, A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate.
[6] Seen in this context, independent Chinese schools and the UEC are hardly an anomaly. As in international schools, Bahasa Malaysia is a compulsory subject in the UEC curriculum, with pass rates consistently exceeding 96 per cent. It is therefore difficult to argue in good faith that the UEC represents a unique or existential threat to national cohesion.
[7] So why all the hysteria over recognising it? How can a certificate awarded to less than 12,000 students a year — within a system that churns out more than half a million graduates annually[3] — plausibly be accused of undermining national integration, marginalising the Malay language, or deepening racial divisions? By what logic can it be cast as a threat capable of creating “chaos in the country” or undoing decades of nation-building? [4]
[8] The answer is uncomfortable but unavoidable: racial prejudice. The objections to the UEC have in fact little to do with education policy and even less with integration. They have everything to do with intolerance and bigotry, all cynically cloaked in the language of constitutionalism and national unity. No other explanation adequately accounts for the intensity and persistence of the opposition to the UEC.
[9] Despite repeated legal challenges, the courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of vernacular schools[5] and their use of Mandarin and Tamil. Recognising the UEC should therefore be seen not as a radical departure, but as a logical and principled extension of these rulings. Instead, the issue has been used to erect yet another roadblock to Chinese education. The damage such an overt act of exclusion inflicts on the cause of national unity is immense and enduring.
[10] While the government pours resources into unity programmes and the prime minister delivers grandiloquent speeches extolling Malaysia’s tolerance and diversity, little is done to confront the real drivers of disunity: persistent, multi-layered institutional discrimination against minorities. This failure reflects not the attitudes of the Malay community as a whole, but the calculations of a political elite that has long relied on inflating racial and religious anxieties to sustain its own legitimacy.
[11] If the prime minister truly believes his own rhetoric about tolerance and respect for diversity, he must demonstrate both the courage and conviction to act on the UEC issue. Recognising the UEC — and persuading its detractors that it strengthens rather than weakens the nation — is long overdue.
[12] After more than half a century of nation-building, a majority confident of its place should have no fear of granting minorities their rightful place and equal rights. If Anwar Ibrahim is truly the reformer he claims to be, recognising the UEC would be more than a bold political move; it would be a declaration that Malaysia is secure enough to be fair to all its citizens. It could yet become his most enduring legacy — if he chooses courage over political expediency.
[Dennis Ignatius |Kuala Lumpur | 19 December 2025]
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