THE name Tunku Abdul Rahman College only brings back sweet memories, as it gave me a lifeline to pursue a tertiary education.
During the 1970s, getting a place in a university to do a degree was not easy, due to the limited number of universities at that time. It was a constant jostling for places as competition was stiff as there were limited number of seats available.
The white knight came in the form of Tunku Abdul Rahman College, fondly known as TAR College. It had the School of Arts and Science, School of Business Studies and School of Technology.
I was fortunate to be offered a place at TAR College. I did the Bachelor of Science (External degree), University of London course. It was an intensive three-year course. I studied at Catholic High School in Petaling Jaya the first two years, using their premises in the afternoons. The final year was at the newly-completed campus in Genting Klang in Kuala Lumpur.
I successfully completed the programme, and am thankful to TAR College for giving me the opportunity to attain a Bachelor’s Degree in Science.
Many years have passed since, and TAR College has been elevated to university status. University Tunku Abdul Rahman’s (Utar) new campus is in Kampar, Perak.
There are some noble and generous philanthropists who have helped fund the university to a great extent.
From a college renowned for providing Form Six studies for the less fortunate, TAR College has grown in stature to Utar.
Most of the graduates qualifying from Utar have no problem seeking employment because of its reputation.
Although I have successfully obtained my basic degree from TAR College in 1977, which is a long time ago, and have even completed my career and am happily retired, I am grateful to TAR College for the window of opportunity available to me then.
A word of thanks also goes out to MCA, the parent body of Utar, for their vision for a noble cause.
Thiagarajan Mathiaparanam
Klang
