KUALA LUMPUR – The handling of the controversy stemming from a brewery’s donation during a Chinese school fundraising event by the government and opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) will hurt efforts in securing votes from the community, said political analysts.
Chin Yee Mun of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman told Scoop that the Chinese community’s take on the issue points to unhappiness over the government’s stance since this donation practice has been done for at least three decades.
“It was never a problem in the past, so why is it a problem now? Their ‘unhappiness’ intensified when the Chinese thought the unity government would be more tolerant.”
The analyst added that the Chinese community had a mixed reaction to how DAP handled the issue, as some said DAP tried its best but some thought the party – with its 40 seats in the Parliament – could have been more dominant in ensuring the government was sensitive to the community’s needs.
Yee Mun said the Chinese community has resigned to the fact that the vernacular schools will not get more government funding and has looked for alternatives to fund their schools through donation drives, which eventually involved certain corporations such as the breweries.
Chinese schools have been given paramount importance by the community as they feel that these institutions are important in preserving their heritage and cultural identity.
Parent-teacher associations, together with local businesses, have been giving their solid backing via huge sums of donations to upgrade school facilities.
The Education Ministry responded to the controversy by saying the cabinet decided to maintain existing guidelines regarding the organisation of programmes and distribution of school donations.
The ministry had said fundraising activities in schools must not display or promote alcoholic beverages within school premises.
At the same time, the ministry had informed that the cabinet meeting also decided to consider allowing vernacular schools to receive donations through their board of governors and foundations.
PAS dismantling its efforts to woo non-Malays
Yee Mun said PAS’ handling of the issue given its prominent role in the coalition, and its clash with partner Gerakan has “seriously affected” the non-Malays’ perception towards the coalition.
“Although the spat with Gerakan was settled by the top leadership of both parties, it sends a message that the non-Malay representation in the coalition does not have much say.
“Under this circumstance, would the non-Malay voters vote for PN?
“PN, in general, should be more careful in issuing statements if they are really serious about getting support from the non-Malays.”
As for James Chin of the University of Tasmania, he said PAS’ role in stirring the controversy has reaffirmed the non-Malays’ belief that the party’s policies are going to affect them, despite the repeated assurances stating otherwise.
The professor also told Scoop that PAS’ take on the fundraising issue also smacks of “a lot of hypocrisy” as the party could have addressed this when it was in Putrajaya from 2020 until 2022.
“Majority of the Chinese community believes that this is pure politics on PAS’ part when the party could have stopped it when it was in power.”
James viewed that the controversy would harden the Chinese community’s attitude to PAS and PN as well as the silence of Bersatu leaders is interpreted as “agreeing with PAS or worse – under the control of PAS”.
The controversy erupted when Selangor PAS took issue with images of Amanah politician and Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Aiman Athirah Sabu receiving a RM3 million mock cheque bearing Tiger Beer’s logo at a fundraiser for SJKC Tche Min in Sg Pelek, Selangor.
Tiger Beer has since denied making charitable donations to schools, saying its role in a fundraiser known as the Chinese Education Charity Concert only involved sponsorship of performances by local artistes.
Between a rock and a hard place
Meanwhile, Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said the fundraising issue has placed non-Malays, particularly the Chinese in “a hapless position”.
He said the non-Malays have issues with the unity government, which they expected to be more progressive, being silent on ensuring vernacular schools have adequate funding.
He added that there are “elements” in some component parties of the unity government being “conspicuously complicit” in the calls to end such sponsorship practice.
“The Chinese community has yet to bring themselves to support PN, which is increasingly dominated by PAS. So the Chinese are left between a rock and a hard place sociopolitically.” – August 6, 2024
