PMX reportedly said on 12 Dec 2025 that any party that submits proposals on matters related to language, must comply with the principles of the Constitution with priority being the mastery of Bahasa Melayu.
The last we know is that both Sabah and Sarawak together with Peninsular Malaysia formed the country, Malaysia.
The Chief Minister of Sabah announced in Sept 2025 that the Sabah government has officially recognised the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) thereby allowing those with a UEC qualification and a credit in Bahasa Malaysia to be on par with everyone else i.e eligible to apply for state scholarship, study in education institutions under the Sabah government and qualify to join the civil service in Sabah.
This was put into action with a letter on 3 Oct 2025 from the State Secretary to all government agencies in Sabah.
Additionally, days after, the Sabah State Government announced the allocation of RM5 million for a newly established Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) Scholarship Fund, providing special financial support to students holding the UEC qualification.
As reported, 45 students with UEC qualifications were awarded state scholarships immediately thereafter.
In fact, the 1st time UEC was recognised in Sabah was in 2019 during the time when Warisan as the state government.
Sarawak was more progressive in this.
As far back as in 2016, the then Chief Minister, the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem reportedly said publicly that the Sarawak government will not change its mind on recognising the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) even if it is inconsistent with federal policy.
The late Tan Sri Adenan apparently further added, to quote, that,
- whether the federal government recognises it or not, it’s up to them, but as far as the state government and state institutions are concerned, we recognise,
- criticised the federal government for its “stupid” policy of refusing to endorse the globally-recognised UEC awarded to graduates of local Chinese independent schools, and that
- Putrajaya’s policy would contribute to the country’s brain drain problem as UEC graduates would continue working abroad after pursuing their studies there, declaring that Sarawak recognises the UEC.
Isn’t Sabah and Sarawak form a part of Malaysia?
If yes, are they not complying with the Constitution as you clearly said in deflecting the UEC issue?
Using the yardstick from PMX in lambasting those who advocated for the recognition of the UEC in the present, it is hypocritical for PMX to allow 2 different sets of adherence to the Constitution to be practised in this country, moreso when it happened during his watch as the PM of this country.
Or as Puan Sri Naimah Mohd Khalid, the wife of the late Tun Daim revealed in her interview with the Podcast Keluar Sekejap, said, when in public and for political reasons, PMX will tell his audience what they want to hear but in private he probably differs as revealed to her by her late husband.
This makes one wonder whether PMX’s recent outburst on adhering to the Constitution on the UEC recognition issue was an answer meant only for the public gallery.
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