Why pick on UTAR and TAR UC?

LETTER | When we made a decision that political parties should not control educational institutions, is this a political decision to begin with?

Surely there are two sides to an argument. Surely there are exceptions to the general rule. Surely there are legacy and history involved. Surely we must allow reasonable time for changes and reforms to take place.

TAR UC and UTAR were born out of historical necessity. There was a dire need for education opportunities, especially for lower income non-bumiputeras, and TAR UC and UTAR have helped enormously to fill the gap.

There were failings of MCA, but for TAR UC and UTAR, I would think that at least they have done one thing right. Without these two institutions, many would have nowhere to go.

Is political control of education institutions ipso facto bad? It is bad when the institutions are used for politicking and discrimination. It is bad if the finances and governance of the institutions are abused. It is bad if standards and the  academic vigour of the institutions are compromised due to external interference.

But so far, are we not proud of the performances of TAR UC and UTAR graduates? Not only that, are we not proud of the Chinese community which has contributed financially to these two institutions?

All these years, have we heard of TAR UC and UTAR practicing discrimination by excluding or rejecting applicants based on race, religion or political beliefs?

It is wrong to stand on moral high ground to look at the world in black and white when the circumstances suit us. In life, there are always exceptions to the general rule. In life, there are always extenuating factors which are unavoidable.

If Pakatan Harapan want to do the right thing, there are hundreds of them still left undone. There is no need to single out so determinedly the issue of political control over TAR UC and UTAR. This is baloney.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.