After Tg Piai, Guan Eng adamant MCA should give up TAR UC for funding
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng maintained that MCA should relinquish its control of the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) if it is to get more than the RM1 million funding earmarked for the education institution under Budget 2020, which he had slashed from RM5.5 million under Budget 2019.
This came despite Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching admitting that the TAR UC issue was among the reasons why Chinese voters swung back to BN in the Tanjung Piai by-election last Saturday...
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng maintained that MCA should relinquish its control of the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) if it is to get more than the RM1 million funding earmarked for the education institution under Budget 2020, which he had slashed from RM5.5 million under Budget 2019.
This came despite Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching admitting that the TAR UC issue was among the reasons why Chinese voters swung back to BN in the Tanjung Piai by-election last Saturday.
Lim said TAR UC was not the sole reason for Harapan's defeat in Tanjung Piai. He maintained that TAR UC can get up to RM60 million from the government if MCA relinquished its control over the education institution.
"We already said that we did not reduce (the allocation). The money is available provided that MCA gives up its political control of TAR UC.
"Once they give up (TAR UC), the money will be available and at least RM30 million annually," he told the media at the sidelines of an event in Kuala Lumpur today.
"I think there is a lot of reasons behind (the Chinese votes swing). If you think this is the sole reason, I don't think so," Lim said.
He then accused BN and MCA of exploiting the issue for the sake of victory.
When asked if Harapan had made no mistake on the TAR UC issue, Lim said: "I never say that. You are putting words into my mouth again."
Teo reportedly admitted that TAR UC and the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) were among the reasons why Chinese voters in Tanjung Piai abandoned Harapan.
She appealed to the people to give DAP time to deal with the issues.
BN candidate Wee Jeck Seng, who is from MCA, won with a whopping 15,086-vote majority by garnering 25,466 votes against Harapan's candidate Karmaine Sardini's 10,380 votes.
Malaysiakini had reported that Chinese-majority polling districts were abandoning Harapan at a rate more than double than that of Malay-majority polling districts.
Lim said the Tanjung Piai by-election showed that people wanted more from the ruling coalition than turning the country from a kleptocracy government to a clean one.
"For them, that's not enough. The people want to see us fulfil our election promises. So, I feel it is important for Harapan to stay focus on fulfilling its manifesto.
"Another (message) is that Harapan represents all Malaysians, and we should emphasise it," he added.
Meanwhile, Lim refused to comment when asked if DAP had approved Paul Yong, who is facing a rape charge, to resume his duties as the Perak state exco.
A journalist asked him the question while he was leaving the venue after the end of his press conference.
Yong pleaded not guilty to a charge under Section 376 of the Penal Code on Aug 23. He decided to go on leave the next day.
However, he resumed his duties on Nov 15 and claimed that he had already discussed the matter with Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu who had no problems with it.
A video clip that went viral recently showed a senior Perak DAP leader claiming that Yong did not get the party's blessing before announcing his return, without naming him.
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