RM40mil to TAA not the same as a matching grant to TAR UC, says Dr Wee

Media interview wtih MCA President Datuk Seri Dr.Wee Ka Siong.

PETALING JAYA: The RM40mil channelled to the TARCian Alumni Association (TAA) is not the same as giving a matching grant to Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), said Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic).

This is because TAA and TAR UC, of which its legal owner is TARC Education Foundation, are two different entities and have nothing to do with each other, said the MCA president.

“There have been media reports claiming that the RM40mil given to TAA were the same as the matching grant for TAR UC.

“It is misleading. They are two different entities and are not related.

“This is how DAP is deliberately trying to confuse the people, ” he said on Monday (Dec 16) on Facebook.

Dr Wee said the matching grant was between the institution owner and the government.

“But isn’t it strange for an alumni to manage the matching grant on behalf of the owner of TAR UC?

“What’s the logic? And what authority was it based on?

“This is a clear plot by (Finance Minister Lim) Guan Eng to expel MCA representatives from TAR UC driven by political mileage and his relentless vendetta towards MCA, ” he said, adding that Lim has set a new precedent by giving allocation to the alumni instead of the legal owner of an institution.

The Ayer Hitam MP also questioned the “double standards” between the long time it is taking for the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) to replace four TAR UC trustees while TAA, which allegedly has strong support from Lim, was set up within two weeks.

“In short, whoever that is close to Lim can have RM40mil directly channelled to their accounts. He cares nothing about the procedures or whether it is included in Budget 2019 or Budget 2020. He can apparently make any ad-hoc decision at his whim and fancy, ” he said.