Pamela Yong, under the guise as “deputy chairperson of the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP), invoked the ghastly fear of “political castration of TAR UC by MOF” in her statement 2 days ago.
Pamela Yong is actually the Sabah Wanita MCA Chairwoman, and sits on the Board of Governors of TAR UC. INSAP is actually an MCA founded think tank chaired by its vice president Ti Lian Ker.
TARC was established in 1972 precisely of MCA’s massive failure to get enough university places for the Chinese students with good grades, and they knew it. TARC was the “token of consolation” with “affordable tuition fees” to soothe the anger and resentments against MCA.
The ploy worked so well that TARC became a runaway success. Chinese pre-occupation with education, coupled with the demands of a rapidly developing economy, saw the number of students sky-rocketed. The Chinese society’s generous donation in pursuit of their children’s future, together with government’s matching grant, saw the eventual births of UTAR and TARUC.
Everybody was involved in the process, including the traders on the streets, the government and the taxpayers. But only MCA is claiming the prize as its own.
The Board of Trustees are controlled by MCA leaders, and they themselves only can pick and choose to admit any new members to the board.
In reality, MCA is no more than the interim custodian of TARUC when it was being established by the combined efforts of the public and the government.
In the Memorandum of Association of TARC Education Foundation, at least 50% of the total number of trustees must be third parties having no connection with the foundation or any of its founders. MCA had wilfully and blatantly disregarded the sanctity of the TARC EF by filling the board with cronies.
Yet when the government requested for MCA to obey the rules set by themselves, they started behaving like a bunch of crying babies, accusing the government of breaching iron clad contracts and laws.
The ultimate comical lame excuse came in the form of a highly trained dentist, Dr. Pamela Yong, conjuring up picture of castration of TAR UC, to put the fear out of living daylights into the psyche of every Malaysian male.
MCA is behaving like an irrational parent who refuses to acknowledge the child had grown up. TAR UC has been in existence for 47 years with 28,000 students. The cash flow is solid with RM 634million in reserve. The alumni boast many tycoons and successful professionals, many are older and wiser in the real world than the current full time politician top leaders of MCA.
The RM 40 million funding involved was already given to TAR UC to be used fully to develop the human resources. TAR UC is not short of money. The alumni, the teaching staff and the students are more than capable to take care of the university.
With all due respect and regrets, MCA is the hindrance and obstacle now.
To let a grown up child to fly the nest maybe difficult, it should be celebrated and proclaimed as mission accomplished. It takes a real grown up man to learn to let go.
MCA’s fear of losing control of TAR UC, to the extent of feeling castrated, is comical, and sad, to the extreme.