The transfer of Kolej Universiti Insaniah (Kuin) to its new campus at Kuala Ketil, Baling, expected at the end of the year, will be the state government’s priority as it involves huge costs and proper planning, the Kedah state assembly was told today.

In view of that, Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak said there would be certain matters which would have to be deferred, like the salary adjustment for its staff.

He said that as a private institution of higher learning, Kuin was not subjected to any provisions that required it to comply with instructions in circulars issued by the federal government.

“Kuin is a private institution set up by the state government and only receives subsidy of RM12 million a year. Kuin depends on students’ fees for its income,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Dr Leong Yong Kong (BN-Gurun).

He said it was normal for staff to receive their salary late when students could not pay their fees as they had yet to receive their National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan.

Earlier, Azizan said the state’s revenue was expected to increase following the discovery of iron ore, like in the districts of Kuala Muda, Kubang Pasu, Yan and Baling.

He said four iron ore mines were in operation in Kuala Muda , while in Baling, the mineral was found on private land.

“As of June 2012, the iron ore mining in Gurun, carried out by Permodalan Kedah Berhad (PKB), has produced 222,000 tonnes of iron ore,” he said, adding that some of the mineral was exported to China and the remaining kept for the price to go up.

“We’ll wait for the price to go up, only then we’ll sell. We have to be cautious, because we are still new in the field and do not want to suffer losses,” he added.

- Bernama