PETALING JAYA: Students from two private universities funded by MCA have urged the party to relinquish ownership of the schools to allow them to operate without political interference following complaints by the party leadership of smaller allocations for the year ahead.
Chester Wong, from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar), said education should be free from political interference regardless of the role played by MCA in the establishment of Utar and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC).
“I believe MCA’s original purpose for forming Utar and TAR UC, previously known as KTAR, was to help students further their studies. At the same time, the universities also produced talents in the workforce.
“But as time went by, this became a political tool to gain popularity and trust ahead of general elections,” the English literature student told FMT.
TAR UC was known as KTAR or Tunku Abdul Rahman College before receiving university college status in 2012.
As a Utar student, Wong said, he was grateful to former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik for setting up the universities. However, he said MCA’s role in Utar should have ended there.
“MCA should allow Utar’s upper management to handle funding issues and other decision-making processes because Utar does not consist of MCA members, but people who voted for both sides of the political divide,” he added.
MCA president Wee Ka Siong recently asked why the Pakatan Harapan government had allocated less money for Utar and TAR UC in Budget 2019.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Putrajaya would consider more allocations next year, adding however that there must be a clear separation between education and politics.
He also told MCA to cut ties with the two varsities before they would receive government funding, saying: “Both Utar and TAC UC must not be owned by MCA.”
Another Utar student, Sarah Yeoh, said MCA should consider renouncing its ownership of both universities if it was truly concerned about education.
“They should look at the bigger picture and ensure that students can pursue quality education without being involved in the murkiness of politics.
“Allowing the management to run the schools will also enable them to practise autonomy in carrying out certain policies, without having to look over their shoulder,” she added.
However, former student Ananga Ratnakumar questioned whether Utar and TAC UC would be able to keep their tuition fees at affordable levels without MCA.
“With MCA, tuition fees are so much cheaper. What if MCA is detached from Utar and TAC UC? We may not get the same level of fees that we do now,” she said. - FMT
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