Brewery donation: Give schools equal funding then, MCA veep tells govt

The Education Ministry should allocate equal funding to all schools if it is worried about where certain schools are getting their donations from, said MCA vice-president Wee Jeck Seng.

He said this after the ministry announced it would investigate allegations that a Chinese primary school in Sepang, Selangor had received donations from a brewery.

“If the Education Ministry wants to restrict the sources of donations to Chinese primary schools, then it should ensure these schools receive adequate funding so they don’t have to worry about organising fundraising activities,” Wee (above) said in a statement.

Last Sunday, a charity event organised by the school courted controversy after it was found that a brewery company was one of the donors.

Also present were Sungai Pelek assemblyperson Lwi Kian Keong and Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Aiman Athirah Sabu, where the latter was seen holding a mock cheque with the brewery company’s logo on it.

Follow existing rules

The matter drew PAS’ ire, with its Selangor youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar criticising Aiman, calling the matter an embarrassment.

This prompted the Education Ministry to launch a probe, stressing they viewed the matter seriously.

“The ministry takes this seriously and we wish to remind school administrators to adhere to existing guidelines when it comes to organising programmes and receiving donations.

“And this covers the prohibition of receiving donations from gains made through gambling activities, cigarette manufacturers, alcoholic beverage makers and its likes as they could jeopardise our students physically, intellectually, spiritually and emotionally,” it added.

It should be noted that the Chinese Education Charity Concert began in 1994.

According to Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh’s speech in May this year, the charity performance has raised over RM407 million in the past 30 years, benefiting 540 Chinese schools.

‘Why the restrictions?’

Wee hurled brickbats at the Education Ministry for dancing to the tune of certain parties.

He also said restricting sources of donations to Chinese primary schools would be tantamount to limiting their development space.

As a result, he said it would affect students’ learning environment and the quality of education.

“If the ministry truly cares about education, it should ensure that Chinese primary schools can continue to nurture future pillars of the nation without any restrictions to their sources of donation,” the Tanjung Piai MP added.

Why is it an issue now?

Fellow MCA vice-president Tan Teik Cheng questioned why beer company sponsorship for Chinese schools is becoming an issue now.

Tan stated that beer companies are legally registered businesses and like other companies, they allocate a portion of their funds annually to fulfil corporate social responsibility programmes, with one being sponsoring charity performances to raise funds for Chinese schools.

“Moreover, these sponsorships have nothing to do with promoting drinking. They purely assist in the development and construction of Chinese education and schools.

“By raising funds to improve physical facilities, they also reduce the government’s burden, providing students with a better learning environment.”

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