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THE government has no objection to recognising the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), provided it is conducted in the national language and revised to reflect the country’s broader national aspirations, according to UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
He said the UEC cannot be placed on par with national qualifications so long as it falls short of these requirements.
“As a sovereign nation, the education system must be built in line with national aspirations. It must be anchored in the mission, values, interests and ambitions of the nation, and it must be implemented in the national mother tongue to strengthen national identity,” he said in a statement on Friday.
“However, in order to embrace diversity and the needs of different communities, the government has never prohibited the implementation of the UEC. It has been carried out by Dong Zong since 1975 and has never faced any operational obstacles,” he added.
Mohamad noted that fostering national unity in a multicultural society is not straightforward. “That is why we believe the only route to shaping a national identity is through education in the national language and a curriculum designed from local wisdom and balanced with international standards.
“We do this while ensuring our standards do not drift away from international best practices.
“Let us not politicise education. It is the one arena where our children, from various ethnicities, learn to cooperate with one another in a spirit of harmony,” he said.
He stressed that Malaysians who do not subscribe to the mission of the national education system are free to study under the UEC system without any hindrance.
“But the government should not be pressured to recognise and equate that qualification because it is not designed to nurture the identity and uniqueness of the national education system.
“For university admission, it is not an issue. It is accepted by many universities in Malaysia and abroad,” he said.
Mohamad added that unless reforms are undertaken to harmonise the UEC with national aspirations, it will remain a system that is not equivalent to the national education framework and therefore does not require formal recognition. - December 12, 2025