Joint Statement Released by Dong Zong and Jiao Zong

November 24, 2018

Dong Zong and Jiao Zong are concerned about the cancellation of between RM3 billion to RM6 billion administration appropriation allocated to Universiti Tuanku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) yearly from the Budget 2019; instead, the government merely appropriates RM5.5 million development appropriation to the university thereafter. This decision may probably result in the raise of tuition fees accorded by the said university which directly influences students from middle or low-income families.

1. Dong Jiao Zong opines, attributed to the previous appropriation from the government, UTAR as a non-profit university could provide high quality and comparatively reasonable tertiary education to the nation. This appropriation indeed has allowed students from middle or low-income families to receive tertiary education at UTAR and contribute themselves profusely upon graduation. Yet, with the advent of the new government, the appropriation allocated towards UTAR drops tremendously, viz., only a RM5.5 million development appropriation to be allocated and thus may prompt a raise in tuition fees to break even its administration expenses. It not only brings in seminal impact but also is detrimental towards national education development.

2. The past decades which UTAR University College had gone through—from college to university college—indeed saw the successful nurture and provision of professionals of diverse sorts for the country disregard students’ political orientation and race. In this train of thought, Dong Jiao Zong urges the new government to abandon its political prejudice and adopt a more open approach towards the UTAR by continuously allowing administration appropriation for the production of more experts and professionals as well as the promotion of national education.

3. It is our resolute belief that education and politics should not cohere, in particular in the face of economic globalisation and the competition and challenges generated from information networking. In this trend, talents and polymaths are critical assets of any one nation and therefore the government needs to view tertiary education development from a macro aspect which is attainable by sponsoring both non-profit private and national institutions for the demands and needs of the country. Concurrently, Dong Jiao Zong likewise would like to urge the UTAR to expand its administration by inviting panel of experts from the Chinese community to enhance mutual corporation while striving superiority for itself.

4. Other than the mentioned, in matters of appropriation towards non-profit institutions like Han Chiang University College (Penang), Southern University College (Johor Bahru) and New Era University College (Kajang) accorded by the government, Dong Jiao Zong herewith expresses its heartfelt commendation for its open-mindedness and updated mindset while expecting systemised appropriation for private-run Chinese tertiary institutions to be in place sooner.