TAR UC says will reject funds from gov’t-backed trust

Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) would reject money from a trust fund that was set up to channel government funding to the institution, says TAR UC’s owner, TARC Education Foundation.

According to Sinchew Daily, TARC Education Foundation said this was due to several unresolved issues regarding the money that was to be channelled through TARCian Alumni Association (TAA) Education Trust Fund.

It said the origin, legality, purpose, and mechanism for spending the trust fund were unknown.

In addition, the foundation took issue that the trust fund registered with the Registrar of Societies using the TAR UC main campus in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, as its address.

“The two entities are not related,” it reportedly said, while raising concern that the address could cause public confusion.

The MCA-controlled TARC EF and the federal government is currently in a stand-off over government funding for TAR UC.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had insisted that MCA relinquishes control over TAR UC before the government resumes funding it directly through matching grants. 

As an interim solution, the government appointed the TARCian Alumni Association to set up a trust fund for channelling up to RM40 million annually from the government to TAR UC and its students.

The TAA is one of several alumni associations for former TAR UC students.

In turn, MCA had accused the government of reneging on a legal obligation to fund TAR UC and of playing politics with education.

At a press conference on Monday, Lim announced that the promised RM40 million has been transferred to the TAA-managed trust fund.

"The board of trustees of the TAA Education Trust Fund, being the administer for this new trust fund, will work closely with the management team of TAR UC to ensure the government grant is properly managed and distributed for the well-being of TAR UC and its students," TAA president, Yap Kuak Fong (above), said at the time.