The fifth iteration of TARCian Alumni Association (‘TAA’) Chinese New Year cum TAR UC Staff Appreciation Dinner took place on 11 March 2017 which brought together alumni and their alma mater to celebrate the Chinese New Year. At the same time, it also served as an occasion for the alumni to express their gratitude to their alma mater for providing them with life changing education that has led them to achieve so much in life.
“Last year, as many as 11,445 Chinese students had come to Malaysia to pursue their education. Meanwhile, 6,880 Malaysian students had come to China to further their studies in 2016 and we expect these figures will continue to increase,” Mr Zhang continued.
The crowd gave a rousing cheer upon arrival of Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, TARC Education Foundation and Board of Governors, TAR UC, who is also the Minister of Transport and President of Malaysian Chinese Association (‘MCA’). In his address, Dato’ Sri Liow commended TAA for organising this meaningful reunion to strengthen the ties between the alumni and TAR UC. Dato’ Sri Liow also shared the future development of TAR UC to the guests at the dinner.
“Moving forward, TAR UC would aim to become an entrepreneurial university, the so-called fourth generation university so as to expand our role as a value creation enabler via our engagement with the industry, community of entrepreneurs, government and even society at large with the objective of yielding positive impact to the country’s economic development. I am also glad to highlight that we are well on our way to becoming a full-fledged university. Having provided top-notch education for more than 48 years and a sterling track record acknowledged nationwide, it is time TAR UC moved ahead to become a university”, said Dato’ Sri Liow.
The celebration was truly a perfect combination of sumptuous food and captivating performances. All the performances were conducted by highly talented TAR UC students and alumni eliciting applause and cheers from the guests of the dinner. Among the highlights in the performances was TAR UC choir who performed three songs. Besides that, there were also soothing saxophone and harmonica performances as well as rip-roaring hip-hop dance and solo singing. The audiences were also treated to a rare karaoke singing session by VVIPs including Dato’ Sri Liow, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Barry Goh, TAA Executive Advisor, Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, TAA Honorary Advisor, Tan Sri Dato’ Lau Yin Pin, Member of the Board of Trustees of TARC Education Foundation and TAA Honorary Advisor, Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, President of TAR UC, Dato’ Yap Kuak Fong, President of TAA and Dato’ Chan Wah Kiang, Deputy President of TAA.
In between the performances, TAA also invited outstanding TAR UC students who won major industry competitions in 2016 to receive a certificate of recognition to encourage the students to continue to do well. Datuk Dr Tan was also invited on stage to receive TARCian Unity Golf 2016 and TARCian Run 2016 mock cheques signifying the contribution by TAA towards the construction of the Student Centre. In the midst of the joyful occasion, Puan Sri Dato’ Dr Mary Lee, TAR UC alumna, was also invited on stage to present a mock cheque illustrating the setting up of Puan Sri Dato’ Dr Mary Lee Siew Cheng Student Loan Fund to Datuk Dr Tan. The most anticipated was the announcement of the Alumnus of the Year 2016 award which went to Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Barry Goh who was the founder of TAA.
The dinner was given another dose of excitement with lucky draws giving away 30 prizes to lucky TAR UC staff. As it has been in the past, the dinner ended with the signature “Laman Song” which bonded the audiences together once again as one united family in TAR UC.