97% of Utar grads have no problem finding jobs, says Chua

KAMPAR: About 97% of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) graduates are able to find jobs after graduation, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said.

He said Utar graduates commanded high premium and were very marketable in securing employment, adding that most of them were able to get a job within six months after their graduation.

“I strongly believe that these achievements stemmed from the fact that the university has been working diligently to provide not only education opportunities to a large number of students from diverse backgrounds but also education of the highest standards.

“In line with the New Economic Model, which is to transform the Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020, Utar and Ktar have produced close to 200,000 graduates,” he said during Utar’s convocation ceremony for 2,118 students from 50 programmes at the newly launched Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik Hall at the campus here yesterday.

Dr Chua said the university currently had about 20,000 students compared with about 400 students when it started in 2002.

He stressed that MCA had recognised the need of the community for affordable and quality education more than 40 years ago and established Tunku Abdul Rahman College (Ktar) in 1969.

“Not everyone is born with a silver spoon and certainly not every family can afford quality education, especially tertiary education,” he said.

“The establishment of Ktar is to provide such quality tertiary education at affordable fees,” he added.

Utar council member Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh gave out scrolls to the graduates while its chairman Dr Ling presented an honorary degree to Datuk Yong Ming Sang who is one of Utar’s founding members.