Feature: No end in sight to TAR UC controversy

Unshaken priced asset: TAR UC has produced 200,000 graduates in many fields, like this class of 2010 in Penang.

Although Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has bowed to pressure to reinstate government allocations for TAR University College, the conditions he lays to disburse these funds will only prolong this political dispute.

WHEN the government candidate was thrashed in a recent by-election, when bak kut teh hawkers voluntarily raised funds for Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), when non-Chinese joined in the fund-raising campaign – only then the Government realised it must act to end this year-long TAR UC controversy.

The fund-raising drive on the ground has gathered momentum. The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), founder of TAR UC, is receiving cheques from donors almost everyday since voters in Tanjong Piai by-election revolted on Nov 16 against the government it previously supported.