Dong Zong urges unity govt to recognise UEC

CHINESE educationist group Dong Zong urged the current government to live up to Malaysia Madani’s value of inclusivity by recognising the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), reported Sin Chew Daily.

Its chairman Tan Tai Kim urged the Federal Government to emulate the Sarawak state government in recognising the UEC, which is the qualification taken by students at Independent Chinese schools.

It was earlier reported that Sarawak has recognised the UEC since 2014, allowing holders of the certificate to work in the state civil service and apply for scholarships from Yayasan Sarawak and for entry into the state-owned University of Technology Sarawak.

Tan, who led the Dong Zong committee on a corporate visit to the daily’s offices, reminded the incumbent government that recognising the UEC was part of their promises in the 2022 general election.

Apart from the UEC, Tan also spoke about other troubles faced by Chinese vernacular schools, which includes the building of schools, fund allocation and shortage of teachers.

Dong Zong, known also as the United Chinese Schools Committees’ Association, looks after the 63 Independent Chinese Schools in Malaysia and sets the syllabus for the UEC examinations.

The UEC qualification is taken by sixth-form students at Independent Chinese Schools and is considered equivalent to STPM in many foreign universities.

However, the UEC is yet to be recognised by public universities in Malaysia, thus forcing its graduates who wish to further their studies to either go to private universities or study abroad.

> China superstar Zhang Ziyi made her first public appearance, since her divorce last year, at a dinner event celebrating the completion of the filming of She Has No Name, reported Sin Chew Daily.

The 45-year-old thanked director Chen Kexin for giving her the lead role.

“There are a lot of changes in this journey. Even so, you remained by my side. Thank you for insisting on filming She Has No Name,” she said.

It was reported that Zhang ended her eight-year-marriage with rockstar Wang Feng in October 2023.

Zhang is best known for her roles in Memoirs of a Geisha and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.