MCA deputy president Dr Mah Hang Soon today refused to state whether he would pursue government recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate as deputy education minister.
After being sworn-in as a senator this morning, Mah (above) was asked three times by reporters on the matter and dodged the topic.
Reporter: Previously MCA said they were on the last mile for UEC recognition. Do you see hope since MCA is back (in power)?
Mah: To me, whatever has been said... My focus now is to, well, focus on my job. Like I said, I'm not someone who likes to talk a lot. Those who know me know that I'm the one who prefers to focus on my job. So give me some time.
Reporter: Will UEC be your top priority?
Mah: Give me some time. I need to... Number one, to get to know this job description first and I will certainly give my utmost, my best.
Reporter: Do you think you can do what (your predecessor) Teo Nie Ching could not do in regard to the UEC issue?
Mah: Let's not deal with other issues. Give me some time. Let me get on the job and we will see. Thank you very much. I will certainly do my best to assist my boss, the education minister, in delivering our mission and vision.
UEC is a British A-level equivalent examination that is used in Chinese private secondary schools that are governed by Dong Zong.
Although this certificate is recognised by many premier universities around the world, it is not recognised by public universities in Malaysia.
Both MCA and Pakatan Harapan had promised to address this. However, after winning the 2018 elections Harapan appeared to have dithered on the idea.
Opponents of the UEC argued that the certificate was invalid because it did not comply with government education syllabus while proponents said public universities were already accepting foreigners with other qualifications.
Mah is one of two deputy education ministers, with the other being Bersatu's Muslimin Yahaya. The education minister is Mohd Radzi Md Jidin, who is also one of four senior cabinet ministers.
Meanwhile, Mah said the deputy minister job was very difficult and the subject matter was new to him.
"This is a very important ministry. Education is very important to our country," he added.
Mah was previously a one-and-a-half term member of the Perak cabinet. He was once a practising cardiologist. - Mkini
Politicians from both divides are using UEC as their politicking material to gain browny points with some stupid voters from Both sides of the divides too.
ReplyDeleteUES graduates has resolved that the option of local Uni is Not in their list of preferred higher institutions. This is a fact, why downgrade to local Unis when Institutions of higher learning abroad are queuing up to grab UEC students to their establishments? Scholarships abundant, cutting edge learning, better equipped facilities and most importantly Equal opportunities to the deserving. UEC is already recognised worldwide.Why would UEC students want their Certificates recognised by BN/PH/PN ?? Politicians ought to give it a rest and focus on uplifting the dead education in this cuntry laa.