Money for New Era College not from us, says MOE

(FMT) – The Ministry of Education said it had nothing to do with the government’s recent contribution to a college linked to Chinese educational group Dong Zhong, despite the attendance of its deputy minister at a cheque presentation ceremony.

This was after Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin questioned the special payment to New Era University College in Kajang, among dozens of Chinese educational institutions which received funds from the government.

The cheque presentation ceremony on Jan 11 was attended by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching.

Khairy questioned the funds for New Era college, saying there was no such allocation for private colleges under Budget 2019.

“Why must private colleges also receive funding?” he asked in a Facebook post.

The education ministry, however, said the contribution to the college was not part of the RM652 million allocated in the national budget, but a special allocation from the Ministry of Finance.

“The ceremony was attended by Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching on the invitation of the Ministry of Finance,” MOE said in a statement.

It added that the previous government had also made special contributions to educational insitutions, including to the MCA-linked Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.