Guan Eng Has Last Laugh As Pmx Turns Villain After Chinese School Halls Exempted From Alcohol Ban

---

 
PICTURE this rapid-fire plot twist in policy making.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was hailed for his heroics when he favoured a blanket ban on alcohol consumption in schools, a stance seen as pandering to the right by Madani critics.
Then from nowhere DAP stalwart Lim Guan Eng entered the fray, accusing PMX of having stirred up a hornet’s nest by generating deep unhappiness in the Chinese community that alcohol not to be served on school grounds.

This is considering that it has been a customary practice to allow the serving of alcohol inside school halls funded exclusively by the Chinese community that are rented to house events like weddings, temple dinners or entertainment outside school hours with no pupil involvement since Merdeka in 1957.
“Further where will such restrictions end? Will the next target after alcohol be pork?” chastised the Bagan MP and former DAP chairman.
“Since pork is banned in government institutions, will Chinese primary schools also see a ban on serving pork at such customary functions like Chinese weddings, temple dinners and entertainment events?”
Over the next eight to 10 hours at least, detractors poured scorn on the Guan Eng cyberspace wide for his disrespectful demeanour towards PMX, not least schools are built on government land and that Islam is the official religion of this land.

This was till yesterday (Oct 24) evening when Madani government spokesman Datuk Fahmi Fadzil reiterated that the serving of alcohol at events in school halls will follow the Education Ministry’s current guidelines that and no new guidelines will be issued.
Late yesterday, Bernama cited a statement by the Education Ministry’s (MOE) that the Cabinet has emphasised that existing practices at school halls managed by the School Management Board (LPS) and private school halls will remain unaffected.
“These practices align with those accepted and implemented by previous administrations, including the previous government,” added the MOE statement.
In fact, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, Science and Technology Minister Chang Lih Kang, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, and Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing had echoed Guan Eng’s concern.
“We explained to the Cabinet that Chinese schools are government schools but the school halls are built with funds raised through activities managed by the school board,” Loke who is also the DAP secretary-general told Sin Chew Daily.

“The board manages the leasing of school halls to support the school in its operating expenditure.”
Interestingly, the latest Cabinet’s stance was unanimous given ‘the appeal’ was backed by other Cabinet members – including those from UMNO – who contended they understood the cultural reasons behind renting out school halls for such occasions.
This eventually brought relief to secular-minded Malaysians:

But self-explicable furore to others when the tables are turned. 



-  focus malaysia

---