(Selangor, 18th) The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) urges the government to gradually open more public university courses to qualified UEC students under principles of fairness and diverse education.
In response to the recent move by the government to conditionally allow holders of the Chinese Independent School Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), who have also passed Bahasa Malaysia and History subjects in the SPM, to apply for four Chinese-related public university disciplines, the Assembly Hall also called for the government to clarify the details of the policy and application mechanism as soon as possible, including the scope of courses, admission standards, and the direction of future openings.
KLSCAH, in a statement on Monday, welcomed the above initiative, considering it as progress for UEC students to enter the public university system. However, it felt that the overall scope of opening remains too limited, and there is still a significant gap compared to the long-standing hope of the Chinese community for fair opportunities for further studies and more comprehensive recognition of the UEC qualification.
This is because the director-general of the Ministry of Higher Education emphasized that the measure only opens a pathway for UEC students to enter public universities, and does not represent formal recognition of the UEC qualification.
Subsequently, Prime Minister Anwar stated in a public setting that the government is also exploring the possibility of conditionally allowing UEC students to apply for non-language courses like accounting, which has caused confusion among the public regarding whether UEC students will be able to apply for more public university courses in the future and the actual policy direction.
KLSCAH believes that if the government truly values talent cultivation and national competitiveness, it should not restrict higher education opportunities for UEC students to only a few specific courses for the long term, and should not handle the UEC issue in a fragmented manner.
If related policies lack clarity, consistency, and long-term planning, it will not help solve problems and is likely to cause doubts about the fairness and sincerity of the policies within society.
"At the same time, as a member of the coalition government, Pakatan Harapan should also remember its long-standing principles and promises to recognize the UEC, and should push for the implementation of UEC recognition policy as soon as possible, responding with concrete actions to the Chinese community’s long-term concern about educational equality and the UEC issue."