He said this in response to a question from Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) who asked if the government would recognise the UEC. The BN lawmaker also wanted to know the number of students who had sat for the UEC examination.

“Our stand remains. We will not recognise the UEC. The stand is based on a Cabinet decision.

“The decision states that the UEC is not based on the national curriculum and national education philosophy.

“It is also a question of national interest and sovereignty,” Kamalanathan told the Dewan Rakyat.

According to Kamalanathan, 12,000 students sat for the UEC in August last year and out of this number, 3,000 also sat for the SPM examination.

“Why didn’t the rest also sit for the SPM? It’s their choice.”

Sim Tze Tzin (PKR-Bayan Baru) interjected to ask the deputy minister why foreigners were given priority over UEC holders, while pointing out that ‘O’ Levels and ‘A’ Levels certificates were also not recognised by public universities.

“The foreign students’ qualification is monitored by the MQA (Malaysian Qualifications Agency). The case is the same for ‘O’ Levels and ‘A’ Levels examinations,” Kamalanathan added.