Yoursay: Wrangling over TAR UC not benefiting students

YOURSAY | ‘Why play politics with the future of the students?’

Wee questions if RM30m for TAR UC channelled to pro-Guan Eng alumni

New public trust for TAR UC is a transitional solution

FairMalaysian: This is one issue which I will not agree with Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

There are already four Education Ministry officials and one Finance Ministry representative on Tunku Abdul Rahman University College’s board of governors.

Despite the fact that it was "owned" by MCA, and despite the fact that TAR UC has helped thousands of students academically, the Chinese voted for Pakatan Harapan - which simply means the Chinese know well enough not to mix education with politics. Why should Lim rock the boat now?

If Lim or the Finance Ministry or the Harapan government want to ensure the funds are used for the intended purpose, this could be done through the appointed representatives from the government ministries and a properly and independently conducted audit.

While MCA may have its faults, TAR UC has always been close to the hearts of the Chinese.

Unless there are specific reasons that we don't know about, Lim should not drag the issue with stunts that may further alienate the people. In all honesty, neither the Chinese nor the people want the funds to be misused. All it takes is to ensure proper monitoring.

After all, when four vice-chancellors of premier universities openly thrashed non-Malays, the government did not cut off the funds to these universities, did it?

I do not wish to link the two matters but I’m just pointing this out as a matter of fact. Lim should not allow this issue to drag on.

Annonnymous 080: MIC-led AIMST University and Gerakan-led Wawasan University never received any funding even from the BN-led government when MCA-owned TAR UC was milking a minimum of RM60 million a year in matching grants, which it was easily able to do so by raising the equivalent amount from Chinese tycoons.

MCA and TAR UC should be ashamed of this request given that these institutions are privately owned. Furthermore, it bragged that there are 200,000 TAR UC alumni who had benefited from the institution.

All MCA had to do is ask each one of them to make a tax-exempt donation of RM300 a year, which is well within the reach of the alumni.

Idiocracy: Many still don’t get it. This is about MCA defending the fort their forefathers built and DAP’s attempt to annihilate MCA’s last bastion. The students and their families have become victims in this fight.

Yes, MCA has no choice but to give TAR UC up for two reasons - a price they have to pay for their defeat in GE14 and secondly, not to let the students suffer under DAP’s attack.

Hence, MCA should let go and continue to raise funds for TAR UC. That way, it can still keep the hearts of TAR UC’s “families”.

MCA has the right to ask a few more questions and buy some time before retreating but it should retreat and give it up.

Whatever said, the spotlight should be on DAP tearing MCA’s altar down. If MCA is corrupt, go after them. Why play politics with the future of the students?

Anonymous 5237890145285379: Lim realised he made a mistake and is trying to rectify the situation. Pride comes before a fall. Take it as a lesson and don’t be too arrogant.

Kwong: @Anonymous 5237890145285379, actually Lim didn't solve the problem. He made it worse.

There are five TAR UC alumni associations. The one Lim selected to give the RM30 million per year is known to be DAP-friendly and is the newest (established in 2012) and smallest of the five associations (7,000 members vs 116,000 for the largest).

This is the same alumni association that gave RM100,000 to Tabung Harapan last year. Now the Chinese are even more incensed as it is seen as Lim giving the money to his political cronies.

Anonymous_6661574178047385: So, Lim is now committed to giving RM30 million every year to TAR UC with no strings attached and no institutional reforms needed.

Also, no need to reduce tuition fees in exchange for government funding. Where are the benefits for the students?

MCA president Wee Ka Siong is now laughing all the way to the bank, and I can imagine him and former MCA president Liow Tiong Lai giving high fives to each other.

All that they need to do now is sit back and demand that Lim keeps his commitment. Then at the next election, in front of the Chinese community, they can claim to have saved TAR UC.

Furthermore, what does a legal adviser know about operation and maintenance, research or capital expenditures? There is no mention of any outside technical advisory committee consisting of knowledgeable people to monitor and provide oversight.

Even the legal adviser said MCA just needed to rectify the "simple technical breach" by replacing half of the trustees and everything would be back to normal.

This is so stupid. All they need to do is to find MCA-friendly people as long as they are not politicians. About half the current board of governors are already non-politicians.

Meanwhile, through its members in the boards of trustees and governors, MCA still has control over the half-billion ringgit of cash and bank deposits in addition to the real estate properties.

It is now too late for us to argue about this.

Ubi-Wan Keledek: I don't know what to call this nonsense. Blackmail, threat, bait or coercion?

The vindictive Lim just wouldn't give up despite what happened at Tanjung Piai, and he still thinks the Chinese are naive and gullible.

If Lim is so powerful, he should just get the Harapan government to set up another college to replace TAR UC instead of trying to use all kinds of dirty ways to force the people to abandon MCA.

And to make it worse, he actually believes RM30 million is enough to buy the support of Chinese voters. Lim will bring down DAP due to his personal vendetta against MCA.

My Understanding: Where are all the past MCA presidents? The Chinese community supported you in the early years to start and expand TAR College but now you are standing by watching how Lim is destroying the only education institution where poor (and those who cannot get a place in public universities) Chinese students can attend?

Lim's DAP, which is multiracial, will not dare to stand up for the Chinese community as it does not want to offend their Bersatu boss.

Also, being a Chinese himself, Lim will not openly support the Chinese community but instead must be seen to ‘bully’ or ‘oppress’ the Chinese to appease Bersatu.

Anonymous_1cfb3ab6: We voted for DAP to bring about bigger changes for the community, including recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), equal education opportunities, et cetera. All of which they, so far, failed to deliver.

When will the Chinese realise that under Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, UEC will never happen as he had resisted this in his 20-plus years as PM previously?

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