Perak govt open to accepting UEC

IPOH: The Perak Government is open towards recognising the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), but the holder needs to be fluent in Bahasa Malaysia as well as obtaining credit in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu said Perak, which is also a state government under the Pakatan Harapan, would follow the decision of the federal government to recognise the UEC.

"We are officially recognising it and we, as the Education Minister (Dr Maszlee Malik) said, are stepping in that direction. Obviously, we will be together, if the federal government agrees, "he said.

He said this after presenting certificates and diplomas at the first session of the 2018 Perak Community College Convocation Ceremony at the Ulu Kinta Allied Health Sciences College here yesterday.

He said the state government would also openly accept UEC holders to work in the civil service if they had the conditions set.

Ahmad Faizal said Malaysians would have to accept the matter to protect the inter-racial relations in the country. "I actually fear that some of us are too worried to talk about this certificate issue, to the point it is hurting the feelings of other races in Malaysia.

"Therefore, there is no reason to hold back the UEC holders' chances as long as they pass the conditions set," he said.

Recognition of the UEC was one of the promises in the PH manifesto.

UEC is a certificate issued by the Malaysian Chinese private secondary school and its implementation does not follow the national education system.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Faizal said the state government was discussing with governmentlinked companies (GLCs) and the private sector in boosting efforts to uplift the education of Perakborn especially for those in the interior.

"I want the GLCs and the private sector to solve this matter on a micro level by regarding these students as their own children.

"If we have or control a GLC that earns tens of millions of ringgits in profits every year, there is no problem to be involved in thinking about the problem of underprivileged students," he said.