YOURSAY | 'Utar can be a much better university if divested of MCA ownership.'

MCA: Ultimatum issued to MCA-owned varsities is political vengeance

New Horizon: To Umno and MCA, everything Pakatan Harapan does is political vengeance, mere excuses for all their past arrogance and wrongdoings.

University Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) and Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) serve a very beneficial purpose, especially for students who cannot afford to join other private universities and colleges, or go overseas.

I am sure many ex-TAR graduates are Harapan supporters. The Harapan government should financially support TAR higher institutions of learning.

MCA leaders should show some humility in appealing for the government’s reconsideration. Criticising publicly will not be of much help to TAR university and college.

Lodestar: Is there any other country in the world where a political party owns a university? It's an absurd mix and it happened here only because of our unique political situation and institutionalised racism.

Utar could be a much better university if it were divested of MCA ownership. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (LGE) is right to refuse them additional government funding until this happens.

Why should the Harapan government contribute towards funding the asset of an opposition political party when the latter is not short of money?

Utar should build on-campus housing first before it talks about its students' welfare.

FellowMalaysian: Although Lim Guan Eng and the Harapan government have good reasons to cease any future grants to TARC and Utar from 2020 on the grounds that the two institutions are owned by the opposition MCA, the new government nevertheless should continue to fund the operation costs.

It is a major moral obligation of the sitting government to do so as both the institutions have irrefutably benefited many students who would otherwise be denied tertiary education.

Anonymous_7f824cc0: MCA with all its billions reaped from the Chinese community must now repay by setting up and contributing to a TAR Endowment Fund of at least RM500 million.

DAP should then encourage the big towkays and big businesses to donate to this TAR Endowment Fund.

Then TAR can become independent of all political parties.

Anonymous 770241447347646: Learning institutions are places where students come to get an education.

If the students have good grades and are financially not able to pay their fees, help should definitely be given to them.

The government and MCA can help by not using these children for their political agenda.

These students have plenty of years after graduating to concentrate on politics if they want to make it their career. But while as students, let them concentrate on their studies.

Anonymous_1527925538: If MCA really cares about Utar and TARC, it should end its political ties, especially now that it knows it is no longer the government and likely to not be so for a very long time.

Mechi: Spot on, Lim Guan Eng. The past is the past. MCA must accept the realities of change. The government cannot help Utar and TAR College if they are politically connected.

Besides, the government and the Chinese billionaires are plentiful and will surely come forward to donate if these institutions stay away from MCA.

Enlighten: This is a tricky issue where students of poor Chinese families will be affected.

Bear in mind that TARC has always been there for the poor Chinese since 1970s and had produced a lot of graduates since then.

These graduates will have a significant influence on the Chinese society. Let's see whether they will support DAP or MCA on this issue.

TC: I am not of Chinese descent. My daughter did her 'A' levels in TARC with a scholarship. No one tried to politically indoctrinate my daughter.

The teachers and staff concentrated on giving quality education. So, please let's not politicise these educational institutions.

They may be owned by MCA but the party did not promote its political ideologies in these institutions.

Cogito Ergo Sum: Why should the Harapan government finance MCA-owned institutions? When in power, MCA hurled abuses at DAP and ridiculed them. Now, the MCA is begging for allocations.

The MCA is a rich party. Use your assets to fund the poor students. Don’t ask the government that was voted in by the rakyat to fund opposition-owned institutions.

Don’t ask taxpayers who are paying the Harapan government to give you a penny when you were thrown out.

David Dass: This is a challenge for MCA: to rise above politics and consider the interest of the Chinese community.

It was the Chinese community that raised the bulk of funds for TARC and Utar. The government also contributed.

The Chinese community now supports Harapan. So the solution will be to make the colleges independent – owned by trusts and foundations.

MCA can choose to stay connected. Perhaps MCA can morph into something better. A multiracial party? Merge with DAP? What else is there?

We are no longer where we were in 1957. The ground has shifted.

Yap CS: So will MCA bite the bullet and for the sake of the students and sever their ties to the TARC and Utar?

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