COMMENT | Chinese politician and reformer Deng Xiaoping once said, "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice, then it is a good cat."

Deng’s quote is how everyone, including PAS and the dissenting ministers in Putrajaya, should reflect upon the recent brouhaha about the sponsorship of vernacular school charity events by breweries.

PAS is creating a storm in a tankard over this event. Surely it is the outcome or result of the exercise which truly matters, rather than the method or means employed to achieve it.

The government is stingy with its funding. Vernacular schools need money, and this is one way of achieving it.

As far as I am aware, no one has complained about some previous major polo tournaments in Malaysia, which has, among its sponsors, the Veuve Clicquot champagne house and Carlsberg. So, is PAS’ criticism based on class divisions or racial bias?