Ervin Devadasan loves music and he was saving up to purchase a Tama drum set. However, the Standard Six pupil decided to donate the money to Tabung Harapan Malaysia instead.

“So I asked him: 'How about the drum kit?' He replied that we could always buy it later.

“Personally, I was very impressed,” his father Edward Devadasan, a 42 year old educator, told Malaysiakini.

Describing his son as a patriot, he said Ervin felt that it was more important to help the nation with its debt.

Edward said as a parent, he believed that patriotism must be instilled from childhood, adding that his son wanted to be part of a national initiative.

“Children are also part of our nation. We cannot neglect children as they will become our future leaders.

“It is a gentle reminder that children are watching what adults, especially national leaders, are doing,” he added.

Ervin had handed his piggy bank to DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang at a press conference in Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh's constituency yesterday.

However, PKR supreme council leader Latheefa Koya urged Pakatan Harapan leaders to stop such gimmicks and focus on governing the nation.

She said politicians should have thanked Ervin for his willingness to contribute and declined to accept his savings, let alone organise a press conference, which she felt was exploitative.

Both Yeoh and Lim have defended their action.

Tabung Harapan was initiated by the federal government after recalculating the national debt, which the coalition claims amount to RM1 trillion.

The federal government's direct debt was RM686.8 million (50.8 percent of GDP) but the previous administration had racked up a lot of “hidden” debt in the form of government guarantees for GLCs and other liability payments.