MP SPEAKS | Non-Muslims, especially from the Chinese community, are upset at some NGOs and political leaders for their preaching, patronising tone and moralising manner without understanding the underlying issue of breweries fundraising for Chinese schools.

Those leaders include former education minister Maszlee Malik, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhammad Akmal Saleh and Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.

The brewery companies’ sponsorship for more than 30 years to raise much-needed development funds for Chinese or vernacular schools has been arrogantly dismissed by them as unhealthy and unethical.

Non-Muslim parents take umbrage at being “lectured” about what is healthy practice in bringing up their children within the Chinese and vernacular education system.

These parents are well aware of the necessity of distancing their children from alcohol. However, they see nothing wrong in brewery companies involved in sponsoring the raising of funds for Chinese schools as a matter of survival.

The alternative to these public donations would result in the Chinese schools remaining in a shambolic and dilapidated condition to the detriment of the learning, health, safety and well-being of their children.

Many of these parents opine that there is no need to source donations including from brewery companies if the federal government can guarantee to make up the shortfall by providing sufficient funds for Chinese schools.

There exists a strong cultural divide, almost a clash of values, between proponents and opponents of the involvement of brewery companies namely Tiger and Carlsberg, in sponsoring or fundraising for vernacular schools.

Opponents who know nothing about the lack of development funds for Chinese schools rely on a moralistic rationale to object to brewery companies’ direct or indirect involvement in raising funds for these schools.

Opponents claim there is no political motive based on racial or religious lines. They try to mask their shrill condemnation of brewery companies’ involvement by citing any advertisements portraying the symbol of Tiger and Carlsberg as harmful to the education and health of the students.

The fact is that brewery companies do not sell beer in Chinese or vernacular schools. No student has been caught drinking or being drunk in Chinese schools as alleged by Sanusi.

Give full public funding

These strident “holier than thou” voices fail to address and choose to completely ignore the fact that vernacular schools are forced to turn to public donations, including fundraising activities involving brewery companies, just to survive.

Bear in mind that Tiger and Carlsberg have helped raise RM981 million since 1987 for vernacular schools.

Tiger has raised RM413 million since 1994 for 540 schools over the last 30 years.

Carlsberg has raised RM568 million for 684 schools over the last 37 years since 1987. This RM981 million is critical due to the shortfall in development funding by the Education Ministry.

For instance, in Budget 2022 alone, RM120 million was allocated for vernacular schools (SJKC and SJKT). This is grossly insufficient.

In the end, vernacular schools were not given RM120 million as promised but RM110 million.

It is ironic that those condemning vernacular schools for allowing brewery companies to be involved in fundraising, do not press the Education Ministry to make up for the difference from such sponsorship.

Why the double standard?

Survival vs ethical concerns

So, faced with the need to survive against the ethical concerns of allowing brewery companies to sponsor fundraising activities, do the so-called moralistic voices suggest that vernacular schools choose to simply not survive by rejecting such public donations because it is “unhealthy”?

That is why for the last 37 years, non-Muslim parents chose to accept this arrangement of sponsorship by brewery companies without allowing their children to be influenced.

This arrangement has worked so far when not one parent in Chinese or vernacular schools has complained of their children being influenced by the brewery companies into drinking beer or getting drunk.

Despite the education minister’s aide claiming that PAS supports the cabinet decision to continue the practice of brewery companies sponsoring fundraising activities for Chinese schools only, nothing could be further from the truth.

PAS continues to object to the cabinet decision even though this involves Chinese schools and not Muslims.

When PAS was in power in 2020-2022, the Islamist party did not object to brewery companies raising funds for vernacular schools.

Non-Muslim parents do not want to see this matter politicised by those who do not know how Chinese schools have been forced to operate to seek public funds to survive for the last 70 years.

In other words, non-Muslim parents do not fear for their children in Chinese or vernacular schools being influenced by brewery companies as much as they fear for the survival of these schools without much-needed development funds.

This is the prevailing sentiment amongst non-Muslims. Can those objecting to the cabinet decision and want Chinese or vernacular schools to cease all involvement with brewery companies, stop their preaching and just come up with the money?

LIM GUAN ENG is Bagan MP and DAP chairperson.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.