Once a TARCian, always a TARCian. This loyal mindset brought together almost 1,000 former TAR College students to the Kuala Lumpur Main Campus on 10 November 2007 for a fundraising dinner for the College Student Loan Funds.

The dinner was organised by the Federation of TAR College Alumni Associations in conjunction with the College’s 38th Anniversary. Guest-of-Honour Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Ting, Chairman of the TAR College Council and Minister of Housing and Local Government, an alumnus himself, was happy to see so many other alumni returning to their alma mater to renew friendships and help their “juniors”.

“We have established the student loan funds for students from low income families who find it difficult to pay their fees,” said Dato’ Seri Ong. “I feel very strongly that all of us who are successful should do something for the poor students.”

Thanks to the strong support from the alumni for the dinner, RM300,000 were pledged in support of the student loan funds!

More good news was in store as Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd undertook two other fundraising efforts in conjunction with the company’s 20th anniversary in Malaysia. The company organised the Canon Charity Bowling Challenge on 4 November 2007 and the Canon 4 TARC Charity Golf Tournament on 13 and 14 November 2007. Datuk Lee Hwa Beng, state assemblyman for Subang Jaya and Chairperson of the organising committee for the golf tournament, together with Mr Lew Sip Chon, Canon Marketing President and CEO, both alumni of the College hoped that the funds collected will benefit many more generations of students who are pursuing their tertiary education in the College. Guest-of-Honour Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn, member of TAR College Council and Minister of Human Resources, praised the participants for coming together for a good cause and he was positive that with the contributions from everyone, the event will achieve the targeted amount of RM500,000 for the TAR College Student Loan Funds.

Finally, the student loan funds received the biggest boost from Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow, Chairman of Public Bank Berhad when he donated RM1.5 million to establish the TARC-Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow Student Loan Fund, thus reaffirming the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment in higher education. It was the largest sum pledged to the College’s student loan fund to date. A simple cheque presentation ceremony was held in Wisma MCA on 4 December 2007 to mark this momentous occasion. The ceremony was witnessed by Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Ting. “This is a historic day for the College as the donation will go a long way in helping more students who are currently facing financial difficulties,” said Dato’ Seri Ong.

The first student loan fund was set up in 1979 and it was named the Tunku Abdul Rahman College Student Loan Fund. To date, more than RM16 million has already been disbursed benefiting close to 10,000 students. With the recent generous donations, more needy and deserving students will now be able to receive interest-free loans and realise their dreams of completing their tertiary education.