KUALA LUMPUR – The federal government will allocate RM42 million for Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) next year for various operational expenditures.
Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mansor Othman said that out of the RM42 million, RM40 million will be used for administration, while the remaining RM2 million will be spent on the institution’s developmental activities.
Mansor said this during a special parliamentary chamber meeting on December 16, which saw various financial questions from former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching concerning TAR UC.
Teo also queried the ministry over the RM45.5 million allocation by former finance minister Lim Guan Eng.
“In 2019, then finance minister Lim Guan Eng allocated RM45.5 million to TAR UC. RM40 million was channelled to the TARCian Alumni Association’s trust fund to ensure financial transparency.
“Another RM22 million was allocated for scholarships and another RM1 million for staff bonuses.
“The use of those funds were publicly disclosed. After Perikatan Nasional took over, there was a balance of RM18 million allocated for students’ financial assistance, which was returned to the Finance Ministry,” said Teo.
In his reply, however, Mansor explained that the RM40 million allocation given to the alumni by Lim was not received by TAR UC.
“Since 2013, the government has only channelled funds to TAR UC directly, and never through a non-governmental organisation,” he said.
Given that TAR UC did not receive the allocation, a subsequent request was made by the institution for administrative spending.
“The government then agreed to allocate another RM40 million, with an additional RM18 million, which is the amount returned by the TARCian Alumni Association to the Finance Ministry,” Mansor said.
Since 2013, the government has provided a total of RM328.2 million to TAR UC.
On another note, Teo said that the allocations given to the alumni will be transferred to the institution’s education foundation, which is controlled solely by the Malaysian Chinese Association, which in turn raises questions concerning transparency. – The Vibes, December 22, 2020
