School in ‘brewery donation’ saga should explain itself, says rep

• UPDATED 12.30PM | Added Selangor DAP secretary Ng Sze Han’s statement.

Amid controversy surrounding SJK(C) Tche Min and a brewery’s involvement in its fundraising event, DAP’s Sungai Pelek assemblyperson Lwi Kian Keong is taking issue with the school’s silence.

Lwi, a guest at the event along with Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Aiman Athirah Sabu, said he felt they were put on the spot and left to suffer the consequences.

When contacted yesterday, he told Malaysiakini they did not know beforehand that a beer company was a strategic event partner.

“The school has not come forward to say, ‘This dinner was organised by us, don’t blame it on the MP’.

“On the night of the event, when the donations were announced and the mock cheques were handed over, Aiman and I were called on stage.

“It was only when we were on stage that we learned that the mock cheque they bought out had a Tiger Beer logo.

“Before that, Aiman and I didn’t know.

“It appears you (the school) have ‘put us on stage’. Now that it has become an issue, you don’t come forward to admit it was your school’s mistake,” Lwi (above) told Malaysiakini in Chinese.

In the Chinese language, the expression “being put on stage” means to put someone on the spot.

‘We are innocent’

Lwi said the school’s three bodies – the school board, parents-teachers association, and alumni association - should come forward to defend them.

According to him, Aiman wished for the school to come to her defence, but they unfortunately did not do so.

“I am somewhat dissatisfied with the school. This incident occurred, and none of the three bodies came out to defend (Aiman).

“If we do not defend such open-minded leaders (like Aiman), in the future, if the schools can no longer hold charity sales or fundraisers, will they (the three bodies) be able to live with it?”

Lwi continued, stating that since he and Aiman were invited on stage without prior knowledge, the responsibility does not lie with them.

“The school should clarify that the two elected representatives were invited on stage without prior knowledge… the responsibility lies with the school, and we are innocent!

“The trouble was caused by your school. If you had not taken a mock cheque with the Tiger Beer logo that night, there would be no issue at all!”

PAS leaders have been criticising the “Tiger-Sinchew Chinese Education Charity Concert” hosted by SJK (C) Tche Min in Sungai Pelek since last week, initially attacking Aiman and then opposing the Chinese vernacular school’s acceptance of contributions from a beer company.

SJK (C) Tche Min is located in both Aiman and Lwi’s constituencies. They announced contributions of RM100,000 and RM10,000, respectively, for the construction of a new hall for the school.

Intention was not to blame

In a statement today, Selangor DAP secretary Ng Sze Han said he has contacted Lwi to understand the context.

“I contacted Lwi immediately to understand the situation. Lwi did not intend to blame the school. His intention was not to blame anyone but to clarify the incident.

“However, improper wording during the communication process led to misunderstandings, which is regrettable,” said Ng.

Ng, who is also a Selangor exco member, said that the state DAP has always defended multi-stream education.

“I myself have attended many fundraising shows to support the development of mother tongue education and this stance will remain unchanged in the future.”

According to Ng, Selangor DAP has instructed its representatives to communicate more and better with schools in the future to avoid similar misunderstandings.

Focus was on education development

In a statement yesterday as the Sungai Pelek assemblyperson, Lwi lauded Aiman for supporting education and for attending the school’s fundraising event.

“I regret and am outraged by the unreasonable attacks she has faced because of this.

“I must clarify that Aiman and I attended the event as invited guests of the school board to witness the fundraising event.

“It is crucial to highlight that the invitation letter from the board explicitly stated the event was a ‘charity dinner’ (makan malam amal) and did not mention the beer company as a strategic partner.”

Lwi also clarified that the beer company did not donate directly to the school, but merely provided a platform for the school to raise funds by itself.

He said the organisers also prepared halal meals for Muslims attending the dinner.

“Throughout the event, there was no promotion or advocacy of drinking. The focus remained on raising funds for the school to support educational development.

“Currently, Chinese schools widely accept students of all races. To develop and maintain the school’s educational goals, the community actively supports these efforts.

“As elected representatives, we have an obligation to help raise RM3 million for the school to build a multipurpose hall. However, Aiman becoming a target of attacks is clearly an attempt by some malicious individuals to divert attention and undermine the Malaysian government’s effort to treat education for all races equally.”

Lwi also promised they would not allow such unreasonable attacks to affect their support of education.

“We will continue to steadfastly promote the equal development of education for all races, contributing to social harmony and progress,” he said.

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