For all: Lest we forget, vernacular schools are government-aided and supported. But instead of waiting for handouts from the Education Ministry, Chinese schools engage in a variety of initiatives to raise funds and improve their facilities. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
THE unwavering support of the Chinese community, especially business personalities and education groups, towards Chinese primary schools is well established.
Their actions have removed the burden of the Education Ministry, which is struggling to disperse funds to schools.
Traditional Chinese culture attaches great importance to education as it’s viewed as an essential platform for self-advancement.
Instead of waiting for handouts from the Education Ministry, these schools engage in initiatives to improve their facilities.
School halls are rented out during weekends for badminton, weddings and other functions to generate funds.
The schools and parents also work together to improve their sports facilities and computer labs.
In one report, parents at Chung Kwok Chinese school in Kuala Lumpur even pooled their resources to upgrade the toilets, complete with polished tiles, backlit mirrors, auto-flushing sensors and wood finishes.
It was made possible because some of the parents are interior designers, while the school also received discounted prices on the items from contractors and tile sellers, the report said.
The Chinese community’s perception is that they will never get enough financial support for these schools.
For decades, funds have arrived from business groups as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives.
But the biggest fallacy is that breweries donate directly to Chinese schools, which has suddenly become a controversy.
Why should breweries donate directly to schools, which are not even their customers? That accusation simply doesn’t make sense.
The brouhaha began when Selangor PAS deputy commissioner Sabirin Marsono questioned a Chinese school in Sepang for hosting a charity performance and fundraising event which involved a beer company’s sponsorship.
His target appeared to be Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Aiman Athirah Sabu, who was present at the event.
The MP for Sepang is also a member of Amanah, a splinter party of PAS. She even pledged a RM10,000 donation to the Chinese primary school.
It’s a different story when breweries sponsor dinners and support groups such as clan associations, parents-teachers association or old-boys alumni, which contribute to these schools.
PAS is probably unaware that during the annual Hungry Ghost festival, many dinners will be hosted, which would also see millions of ringgit being raised for charity, including helping needy students and schools.
As with Chinese dinners, beer and liquor are usually served. Very often, beer is sold to raise funds. So, let’s not make an issue of this.
It’s not just schools that benefit but also Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Hospital’s development in Kampar, Perak, which reportedly gained from fundraising events supported by breweries.
Over 500 schools across Malaysia have received more than RM100mil since the “Tiger Chinese Education Charity Concert” programme started in 1994.
Last week, Tiger Beer said the company had never given donations to schools, claiming that its recent school fundraiser only involved performances by local artistes at the concert organised by the contributors.
It said it was confined to the school’s parent-teacher association and board of directors.
In fact, the Chinese Education Charity Concert (CECC) has been around for 30 years, and its mission is to be a platform to help the community raise funds to upgrade facilities at Chinese schools in need.
So, why is PAS suddenly upset with these charitable efforts, which are held in restaurants, Chinese associations and community halls?
It’s not news, and PAS incredulously wonders why most non-Muslim voters won’t support the Islamist party in the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.
Then, there’s hot head Umno Youth leader, Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, who has waded into this issue, forgetting that he represents a racially mixed state constituency in Melaka.
The beer industry, including Heineken and Carlsberg, contributes over RM2.2bil in taxes annually. Common sense would indicate the taxes benefit other Malaysians as well, and not merely non-Muslims.
During the Covid-19 movement control order (MCO), Heineken Malaysia donated basic food items to B40 communities to help vulnerable families of all religions and races to cope with limited income, while Carlsberg Malaysia donated thermometers and disinfection products to thousands of primary schools throughout Malaysia.
Over the years, the breweries have contributed over RM160mil towards promoting education, protecting the environment and advocating responsible consumption.
On Friday, the Cabinet decided that it would consider allowing vernacular schools to receive funds through its board of directors and foundation, including from activities involving alcohol brands.
The Education Ministry stated that the stand had been the practice of several administrations without dispute.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the event in question was for a charity concert and not a direct donation to the school, adding that it was organised by the school’s parent-teacher association and the school board.
Then, there’s the gaming industry, in particular, number forecasting operators (NFO), which also contributes billions of ringgit in taxes to the country.
More taxes could have been collected, but the gaming industry has been paying less since PAS began gaining more power at state and federal levels.
The winners are the illegal gaming operators, who are in cahoots with criminals and probably corrupt enforcement officials, too, as it is estimated the government loses about RM5bil in taxes.
According to a 2022 news report in The Edge, the operations of gaming companies, NFOs and breweries contributed RM1.86bil in income taxes in the previous two financial years.
Let’s not forget that Sports Toto contributes substantially to the National Sports Council for the development of sports in the country. It also supports the initiatives of numerous community and charity organisations.
It was reported that the Confederation of Malaysian Brewers Bhd alone generated RM3.7bil in taxes, profits and salaries, which is equivalent to 0.3% of the country’s gross domestic product.
About 20% of students in all Chinese schools across the country in 2024 are non-Chinese, a figure up from about 12% in 2020.
Mandarin is an economic language and with China becoming a superpower, Malaysians of all races understand why we need to master Mandarin – just like we know the importance of Bahasa Malaysia as our national language and English as an international language.
There’s no need to fear Chinese schools or make them political scapegoats because it only constitutes six years of basic primary education, where maths and science are prioritised, before students graduate to normal secondary schools.
Lest we forget, these vernacular schools are government-aided and supported.
Well, can the politicians who continue to pick on Chinese education and schools dare say that the Chinese community need not have to continue fundraising because these schools will be allocated an equal amount of money as other schools?
The biggest problem in Malaysia today isn’t Chinese or Tamil vernacular schools but politicians who brew racial and religious sentiments and intoxicate us with their poisonous rhetoric.
