Donation issue: Education Ministry still mum on cabinet decision

More than 24 hours after the cabinet meeting, the Education Ministry still has not cleared the air over the issue of Chinese vernacular schools accepting donations from breweries.

Yesterday, government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said Education Minister Fadlina Sidek would address questions related to the alleged cabinet decision.

This is after a Chinese daily quoted a source claiming the cabinet decided that the ministry’s guideline, which bars receiving funds from companies that produce tobacco or alcohol products, would not apply to non-Muslims and Chinese schools.

Both DAP and MCA leaders subsequently claimed credit for the decision, lending credence to the news report.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said the decision dates back to the time when his party was in the cabinet.

“It was fine, but you forcefully targeted Chinese schools. Now the cabinet has reverted to the policy during MCA’s time in the cabinet, and you expect people to be grateful?

“It’s like an employer withholding salaries without reason, and after causing a mess, finally paying the due salaries. Should the employer be praised for that?” he said on Facebook.

Previously, DAP leaders, including Kampar MP Chong Zhemin, pointed out that the Education Ministry’s guideline was issued in March 2018 when MCA was part of the BN government.

DAP vice-president Teresa Kok, in response to the reported cabinet decision, praised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the government for respecting the Chinese community’s traditions.

Read more: A guide to the Chinese schools education system in Malaysia

The Seputeh MP also praised DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke for “bravely defending the interests of the Chinese community” at the cabinet meeting.

30 years of support

On Tuesday, Fadhlina ruled out exempting Chinese schools from the guideline or the possibility of a review as well.

Following this, Loke, who is also transport minister, said he would seek a cabinet review of the guideline. This courted brickbats from Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.

The issue became controversial after PAS targeted Amanah Women chief Aiman Athirah Sabu who was photographed holding a mock cheque for a Chinese school in Selangor which featured the Tiger Beer logo.

Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh later clarified that Tiger Beer, which is owned by Heineken Malaysia Bhd, had been running fundraisers for Chinese vernacular schools for three decades.

This led to fireworks between the government and opposition, with Aiman, who is also the deputy housing and local government minister, calling PAS leaders “hypocrites” for not having reservations in meeting and greeting voters who consumed alcohol and pork during election campaigns.

Joining the fray, two Chinese education groups also accused PAS of harming racial ties to seek political mileage.

PAS and Perikatan Nasional leaders, however, denied that their protest was aimed at stirring racial tension.

Instead, it was rooted in ethics and values, with Bersatu assemblyperson Nurul Syazwani Noh arguing that such funds “indirectly convey the wrong message and normalise the logo for students as well as the funding, which runs contrary to moral and educational ethics”.

Separately, DAP’s Sungai Pelek assemblyperson Lwi Kian Keong, who was also present at the event in Sepang, is taking issue with the school’s silence.

Lwi felt that he and Aiman had been put on the spot and left to suffer the consequences.

According to him, the pair did not know beforehand that Tiger Beer was a strategic event partner.

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