Sarawak deputy education, innovation and talent development minister Dr Annuar Rapaee said he raised the matter at a recent meeting with higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir and representatives from state education executive committees nationwide.

During the meeting, the question on why state-owned universities were still considered private universities was raised, he said.

“Right now, it’s still being discussed at the ministry level whether to have these universities classified as IPTNs or IPTAs,” he told reporters after opening the inaugural International Conference on Co-Curricular and Learning Experience in Kuching today, The Borneo Post reported.

He said the classification of these universities has legal implications, including the tax treatment of donations they receive.

Annuar said one reason why the state-owned universities are considered private institutions is because they are owned by companies.

“The majority of states in the country have their own universities such as Melaka and Selangor.

“In Sarawak, we have five, namely Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Curtin University Malaysia, University of Technology Sarawak, i-CATS University College, and Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak (Centexs).

“I’m sure that if state-owned universities can be classified as IPTAs or IPTNs, it would be very fruitful for these universities as the federal government would be able to channel funds to them,” he said.