Sabah ironing out UEC-related matters

State government needs time to decide on examination’s status, says Liew

KOTA KINABALU:

The state government will need some time to decide if it should recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in Sabah, says Christina Liew.

The Deputy Chief Minister said they were still ironing out some related matters, but were sure issues related to UEC would be addressed soon.

“I raised this matter with the Chief Minister recently and we are also in discussion with the state Education Minister,” Liew said at Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School here yesterday.

The UEC is conducted by the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) in 60 Chinese independent schools, with Mandarin as the medium of instruction.

It is currently not recognised by the government, so school-leavers with UEC qualifications cannot enter public universities or join the civil service.

The recognition of UEC was one of the promises in Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto during the 14th General Election.

Liew said: “Give us time. I am sure this will come eventually but let us sort out some matters first.”

On a separate issue, Liew said either AirAsia or Malaysia Airports should upgrade facilities at Kota Kinabalu International Airport’s Terminal Two, if the state government is to reopen it.

Liew, who is also state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, was responding to concerns from the public about the poor facilities at the terminal.

“Of course, if we were to allow Terminal 2 at Tanjung Aru to reopen, the airline or airport management must make sure facilities are up to standard and upgrades are carried out,” she said.

On Thursday, AirAsia Group Bhd chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the company was back in talks with relevant agencies, including the Sabah government, to restart Terminal Two as a dedicated low-cost terminal.

Fernandes said AirAsia was prepared to refurbish the terminal, and operating it as a low-cost terminal would double tourist arrivals to five million a year.

AirAsia was forced out of Terminal Two by Malaysia Airports Bhd.

It has been operating since Dec 1, 2015 at KKIA Terminal One, which Fernandes said saw “flat growth” over the past two years.

Liew said the proposal was worth considering, especially if it meant bringing in more tourists to Sabah.

Meanwhile, state Education and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob said the allocation from the Federal Government for infrastructure development projects in Sabah would be distributed fairly to all schools.

“We are in the midst of deciding how ... because the funding is not enough.

“We will try our best to make sure that all schools can get something,” he said.

The Federal Government allocated RM36mil to address emergency development for schools.

It has also allocated half a billion ringgit for dilapidated schools in Sabah.