DECEMBER 7 — MCA President Wee Ka Siong is a man on a mission. Not a day passed by without him attacking the government asking for RM30 million to be given to MCA-controlled TARC Education Foundation. 

Yesterday, the demand had been ramped up to RM60 million in total, and said to be “owed” to them. Government’s generous RM40 million allocation to the students of TARUC was inexplicably and incomprehensively discounted and dismissed as thin air. 

To add substance to urgency, the whole MCA machinery had gone into media overdrive to “save” TARUC despite its RM634 million cash reserve. Various fund raising initiatives were organised including conventional hawkers’ charity sales and gimmicks like selling lip sticks. 

Every day, MCA would announce they have collected some donations from some poor hawkers and hardworking people. They tried to emulate the donation drives to build UTAR in 2002. Back then Tan Sri Robert Kuok and Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong both contributed RM20 million each, and Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan and Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary contributed RM 10million each. 

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The biggest difference now is tycoons had not supported the donation drives. In reality, many had asked MCA to relinquish control of TARUC to separate politics from education. 

MCA’s overwhelming and suffocating enthusiasm to raise money to top up TARUC’s RM634 million coffer only highlighted its double standards. Did it ever organise donation drives for the 60 Chinese independent schools who were always running in deficits year after year? 

The Chinese independent schools were surviving on the selfless sacrifices of boards of directors, who had to top up the shortfalls despite organising fund raising events after events, year in, year out. I personally know and can vouch for many that had donated many millions throughout the years. 

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Many are not tycoons, but carry the burdens financially willingly, often reluctantly to make sure the students do not suffer. Many are desperately weary and cannot wait to retire as it is a real heavy burden to bear.

As Wee Ka Siong has gone berserk and hysterical over the financial “Armageddon” of TARUC, I think many people will like to ask the Chairman of TARC Education Foundation and President of Malaysian Chinese Association:

  1. How much have you, other trustees of TARC Education Foundation, MCA top leaders who are millionaires, and MCA itself, with over two billions of assets, donated personal money to TARUC in the last five years? 
  2. How much have all of you donated to the Chinese independent schools over the same period of time? 

If the answers to both the questions above are negative, Wee Ka Siong, MCA and TARC Education Foundation have no moral ground to collect any money from the poor hawkers and the government.

* Dr. Ko Chung Sen is the state representative for Kepayang.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.