THE task force preparing a report on the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) for the Education Ministry seeks input from Najib Razak, said its chairman.

Eddin Khoo said members want to speak to the former prime minister before they submit their report to Putrajaya as he held the education portfolio when the government decided to let the private sector play a bigger role in the education system, leading to foreign players entering the local market.

Najib, who is Pekan MP, suggested granting recognition to UEC in the 2013 and 2018 general elections, he said.

“We want to know why he wanted UEC to be recognised. What was the context? What kind of evaluation did his administration do, to the point that they suggested giving it recognition?” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Besides Khoo, others on the task force are Dong Zong deputy president Tan Yew Sing, who also heads the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, and Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia president Mohamad Raimi Abdul Rahim.

The team was formed by Putrajaya to help resolve the UEC recognition issue, as promised in the Pakatan Harapan election manifesto. Members were appointed last October to study the matter and make recommendations to the Education Ministry.

UEC is a standardised test for independent Chinese secondary school students organised by the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia since 1975.

The exam was launched after the Chinese schools refused to use English as the medium of instruction and join the national education system at the end of the 1960s. At the time, there were 62 such schools nationwide, with a third of them located in Sabah and Sarawak.

During his tenure as education minister from 1995 to 2000, Najib encouraged local universities to build links with their overseas counterparts.

He also put in place the Private Higher Education Act 1996, allowing foreign varsities to set up campuses in Malaysia and turn the country into a regional education hub.

UEC got a boost when the government allowed the private sector to accept the certificate as a basis for admission in 2004.

“As the task force chairman, I want to discuss this with him (Najib). We have contacted his office. We understand he is busy,” said Khoo.

Najib is currently occupied with his 1Malaysia Development Bhd trial.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong previously said Najib had offered conditional recognition for UEC to Dong Zong, which would pave the way for students to gain admission into local varsities. However, the Chinese education group rejected the offer.

No compromise on national language

Over the last 40 years, said Khoo, the debate and discussion on UEC have been emotional, with the opposing sides failing to find common ground.

On the one hand, Chinese educationists complain that refusing to recognise the exam effectively renders those in the system as “stepchildren” even though they are Malaysians, he said.

Those opposed to it, meanwhile, argue that UEC does not help foster unity among the races, and that it negates the role of the national language.

Khoo said he, personally, is opposed to any compromise on Bahasa Malaysia.

“I am firm on this. No compromise when it comes to the national language.”

He declined to give details of the task force’s report, including whether it will touch on the role of BM in the education system.

Despite his position on the matter, he said he agrees with some quarters’ view that BM is inadequate as a language of knowledge in today’s fast-moving world.

He said UEC should be viewed from a broad perspective, including its role in the national education system and its future within the said system.

“There are no winners or losers in this issue.” – October 4, 2019.