KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin reiterated Umno’s stance today that the United Examination Certificate (UEC) should not be recognised as it is a foreign certificate and inconsistent with the national education system.

The Umno vice president also claimed that by accepting the UEC, the government will send the message that the national education system is "terrible and a failure”.

"It (UEC) fully uses a syllabus, content and examination system taken from a foreign country (Taiwan) without any filters, controls or monitoring by the Education Ministry.

"Local education experts and the Malaysian government are not involved or referred to when it comes to preparing the system,” he said in a statement.

He further claimed that the UEC system is not based on Malaysia’s education philosophy and its adoption would lead to segregation.

The former minister further asserted that the UEC was why Barisan Nasional government failed to unite the different communities in Malaysia, claiming that the system also devalued Bahasa Malaysia as the national language.

He advised the government and Malaysians in general that it is better to improve on the existing requirements for university entrance instead of adopting another qualification.

"Even without UEC we have always acknowledged the importance of Mandarin being taught in Chinese stream schools under the national syllabus.

"It is better that the government, especially the Education Ministry to take steps to improve the Chinese stream school syllabus instead of adopting a foreign system that has always created controversy,” he said.

Umno has used the UEC as among issues to support its current message that Malay-Muslim interests are under threat from the Pakatan Harapan government.