PETALING JAYA, 23 June: The Federal Government, under the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should be transparent in the construction issue of building 10 new MARA Technological University (UiTM) campuses, as revealed by the Member of Parliament of Pandan, Rafizi Ramli.
The Assemblyman for Seberang Jaya, Dr Afif Bahardin, said that the construction, through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) method, will result in UiTM students being burdened by the rental cost.
He said this, through the Prime Minister’s reply in Parliament, that the actual cost of construction of UiTM in Pasir Gudang is between RM280 million to RM315 million.
However, Barisan Nasional’s (BN) decision will cause one project to be tied to a rent of between RM56 (million) to RM69 million for a period of 23 years.
“Indirectly, the cost is around four times as great and is feared that it will burden UiTM,” he said during a press conference at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) headquarters today.
In relation to that, he urged Najib to review the heavily biased concession for the survival of UiTM.
“By using public funds for the expenditure, we want an academic and administrative reform. Bribery and the practice of corruption do not help UiTM advance. In fact, it destroys the future of the university,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Assemblyman for Batu Caves, Amiruddin Shaari, said that the issues like the construction of educational institutes in Selangor will happen and eventually, students will be burdened by the rental cost of hostels from the move.
“Therefore, what has happened should be made a lesson. We do not want students to be burdened,” he said.
The former Teluk Intan parliamentary candidate, Dyana Sofya, said that the move is a betrayal to Bumiputeras.
“Umno often prides themselves and champions of Malays, but in fact, it is just a farce.
“As an alumni member of UiTM, I feel sad and frustrated for the future of UiTM because this privatisation may be detrimental to the government, and in fact, the cost of maintenance would have to be borne by the university, thus subsequent costs would involve students,” she said.
NS