Kampar, September 2 (J-on) - The controversy surrrounding philantrophist Koon Yew Yin's claim that UTAR had turned down his RM30m offer to build hostels has picked up the pace, this time making into last night's Mandarin news on NTV7.

The issue which was first brought up by the Malaysian Mirror November last year gained renewed attention when the matter was raised by Koon to DAP's Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming recently.

Accoridng to the report, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek in a statement yesterday revealed that he was unaware of the donation and has asked the university's council to provide an explanation.

However according to a report last year, Koon revealed that he had appealed to the then MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for UTAR to reconsider his offer.

Koon had last year made the offer to UTAR on condition that he had oversight over how the money is spent by the university's committee and that proceeds from hostels should be used for scholarships and the construction of new hostels.