UEC debate revival 'unhealthy' political practice - Warisan leader

UEC debate revival 'unhealthy' political practice - Warisan leader


Published: Dec 15, 2025 5:50 PM
Updated: 8:50 PM



A Warisan leader has described the revival of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) recognition issue following Pakatan Harapan’s poor showing in the Sabah state election as an example of unhealthy political practice.

In a statement today, Warisan's deputy information chief Justin Wong dismissed any call to "re-examine" the issue as no longer relevant, and instead urged the federal government to proceed with immediate recognition of the UEC as a principled and responsible decision.

The Sri Tanjong assemblyperson said the UEC issue, which had remained dormant for a long time, suddenly resurfaced as a hot political topic, a development which he linked to Harapan's performance in the recent Sabah election, which saw the coalition left with only two seats through PKR.

“Several years ago, some DAP leaders claimed that only a small number of people within the Chinese community used the UEC to apply for positions in the civil service.

"Yet today, the UEC has suddenly become a highly important qualification, with Harapan leaders - including some from East Malaysia - showing strong interest in revisiting the issue,” Wong (above) said.

Wong stressed that Harapan's election manifesto for the 2018 and 2022 general elections had both spelt out UEC recognition as a governing promise, endorsed by the DAP, which was recently wiped out from Sabah.

“After all this, does the government still need more ‘studies’ and ‘consultations’?” he questioned.

Following the conclusion of the state election, DAP deputy chairperson Nga Kor Ming announced the party would seek a meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on UEC recognition, drawing sharp criticism from Umno.

On Dec 12, Anwar weighed in on the UEC debate, reminding all quarters of the constitutional status of Bahasa Malaysia, signalling that DAP may face an uphill battle.

‘Unrelated matters’

Wong, however, stressed that recognising the UEC and upholding Bahasa Malaysia as the official language are two separate matters.

“We have never seen the state government at that time claim that UEC recognition had to be postponed to defend Bahasa Malaysia.

“This clearly shows that the two issues do not conflict and are not related,” he said, citing Sabah's recognition of the UEC under former chief minister Shafie Apdal, who led the state between 2018 and 2020.

“If the government has the political will, the federal education ministry can implement bilingual textbooks, strengthen proficiency in both Bahasa Malaysia and English, and even allow room for other languages as well,” he added.

Separately, the China Press reported Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari as reaffirming that state's recognition of UEC since 2015 as a pathway to study at state-linked universities, as well as a career entryway in state GLCs.

He also reportedly urged all parties not to get bogged down in debates about language and education systems, as it could slow down societal progress and cause the state's technology to drift further away from global development trends.