After Muhyiddin remarks, MCA Youth presses Pakatan to admit ‘lies’ on UEC

(MMO) – Pakatan has to concede that its 2013 election manifesto to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) is a “lie” following Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s contrary remarks, MCA Youth said today.

MCA Youth secretary-general Datuk Leong Kim Soon referred to Muhyiddin’s interview with the Chinese-language media, where the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) president had reportedly said that Pakatan Harapan will not recognise the UEC qualification if the related syllabus and examination format is not revised.

Leong said it was time for federal Opposition party DAP ― which is part of Pakatan Harapan that is in an alliance with PPBM ― to admit that the Opposition allegedly rejects the UEC.

“Pakatan must also admit that their Manifesto for the 2013 General Elections which reiterated their Common Policy Framework after the 2008 GE which promised that “Pakatan will recognise the UEC …” were outright lies, never sincere, knew-they-would break and drafted purely to steal Chinese votes away from MCA which the Opposition was successful at,” Leong said in a statement today.

Leong referred to Pakatan Harapan only by the word Pakatan in his statement. Pakatan Harapan was formed last year after its earlier version Pakatan Rakyat ― which was formed after opposition parties won several state governments in Election 2008 ― fell apart.

A check by Malay Mail Online found that Pakatan Rakyat’s manifesto for Election 2013 contained this line: “Pakatan Rakyat will recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (Combined Chinese Secondary Schools) or UEC for the purpose of furthering academic admission to higher education institutions and also as academic qualifications for jobs”.

Responding to Muhyddin’s remarks that the UEC syllabus and exam was allegedly not reflective of national values, Leong said the PPBM president should not challenge UEC students’ loyalty and patriotism towards Malaysia, pointing out that these students study the national language and sing the national song during school assemblies, besides sitting for the secondary school exam of SPM.

Describing Muhyiddin’s remarks as being a “declaration for Pakatan”, Leong said MCA Youth was now challenging Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali to withdraw recognition by the Universiti Selangor (Unisel) ― owned by the Pakatan state ― of the UEC qualification for admission into its courses.

Leong highlighted MCA’s efforts to push the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government to recognise UEC qualification, noting that UEC holders could, since 2010, apply for loans from the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) and apply for intake into teacher training institutes with four UEC credits.

“MCA also brought about the recognition of China and Taiwan universities’ degrees and strove or students from Kuantan Chung Hwa High School to sit for UEC examination. All these efforts are intended to secure government recognition for UEC,” he said.

Muhyiddin’s PPBM had last December formalised its cooperation with Pakatan Harapan for the 14th general election, but he has not been appointed as the Opposition’s leader or the spokesman for the Opposition pact.