Chew: Lim’s allocation for three private colleges miserable

KUALA LUMPUR: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s funding allocation for three private colleges is “miserable” compared to the millions of ringgit taken away from Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), said MCA secretary general Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.

Calling it an “insincere and knee-jerk reaction”, she said it was regrettable that each university college – Southern University College, New Era University College and Han Chiang University College – was given only RM2mil.

Even with a total of RM6mil allocations for the three colleges, it was still a far cry from the RM30mil to RM60mil matching grants taken away by Lim from TAR UC, she said.

“This is Guan Eng’s tactic in his attempt to alleviate pressure from public outcry, and clearly a short-term measure and perfunctory without any sincerity,” she said.

Chew said that TAR UC being deprived of its annual government matching grant for operating expenses was against the government’s pledge to TAR UC, an issue of government allocations for private educational institutions founded by the Chinese community.

She also urged Chinese associations to demand that the Pakatan Harapan government institutionalise allocations for non-profit private institutions of higher learning.

“Since Guan Eng repeatedly advocated for institutionalised allocations for Chinese schools, Southern, New Era and Han Chiang, the Chinese community must take opportunity of the TAR UC incident to unite, and request the Finance Minister to resolve once and for all the issue of government grants for Chinese community-run non-profit education institutions.

“We want Guan Eng to endeavour to enact laws via Parliament that will clearly state the mechanism of allocation, including how the fund is being disbursed and how much, whether it is ringgit-to-ringgit or the same as the RM3.7bil given to MARA, or half of it?

“We certainly do not want a perfunctorily given RM2mil allocation,” she said.

This is Guan Eng’s tactic in his attempt to alleviate pressure from public outcry, and clearly a short-term measure and perfunctory without any sincerity. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun