DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has praised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's "bravery" in leading the move to allow Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) graduates admission to four courses in public universities related to Chinese studies.
Loke said, unlike Anwar's predecessors, the Pakatan Harapan chairperson had delivered on his promises to provide a pathway for UEC graduates to enter public universities.
"Let's not get mired in these issues. UEC is an issue regarding access to education," Loke said in his speech during the Harapan convention at the Johor Persada International Convention Centre this afternoon.
On Thursday, the Higher Education Ministry announced that graduates who sat for UEC will be eligible to apply for the Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language Studies with Honours and Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese Language and Linguistics.
The other two programmes are the Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Studies and the Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese Language with Education.
Yesterday, Anwar said the admission of UEC graduates to public universities relies on strict conditions, including a compulsory pass in Bahasa Malaysia and History under the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.
According to Bernama, the premier said this was similar to conditions imposed on applicants coming from outside of the national education system.
In his speech, Loke stressed that DAP would do its utmost to uphold the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, jokingly pointing to himself as an example.
"Look, all of my slides have been written in Bahasa Malaysia.
"Even the minister from PKR did not use Bahasa Malaysia - all of his slides were in English," he said to raucous laughter.
It is unclear which minister he was referring to.
‘Hypocrites’
The decision to recognise the UEC certificate drew brickbats from several opposition leaders, such as Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari.
While Fadhli accused the government of diverting public attention from the entry of UEC leavers into public universities by mentioning tahfiz students in its statement, Muhyiddin said it would create a double standard in assessing public university candidates.
Hitting back, Loke labelled some of the critics against the move as "hypocrites".
He said opposition leaders such as Muhyiddin and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had previously supported such an initiative when their parties had partnered with Harapan.
Others, such as MCA president Wee Ka Siong, had done nothing despite spending decades in power, he added.
However, he said there were those within Harapan who had also opposed the move, going so far as to call for Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir's resignation.
"I say that if you do not uphold the Harapan manifesto that won you (your seat), then it is you who should resign," he asserted.
He noted that UEC recognition has been a pivotal part of Pakatan Harapan’s pledge to the public, as it was part of previous general election campaign promises.
Public discourse
The UEC debate re-entered public discourse after DAP initiated a push to get the certificate recognised as part of its reform agenda following a wipeout in the Sabah election.
Besides these graduates, the government had also agreed on entry pathways for students from tahfiz schools or institutions.
Candidates from these streams who also possess a full SPM qualification may apply for any programme offered through the UPUOnline system.
This is based on merit calculations according to subject packages determined by the Education Ministry and subject to the general and specific programme requirements set by universities through a merit-based selection process. - Mkini
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