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UPDATE:
Chinese Primary School Halls Can Continue Serving Alcohol At Events
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said alcohol should not be permitted on government school grounds, even when facilities such as halls are rented out to external parties
He said this in parliament yesterday, 23 October, while responding to PAS lawmaker Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who had asked about alcoholic drinks allegedly served at a recent school alumni reunion dinner in Ipoh, Perak.
"The school environment must be safeguarded… even after school hours, the use of school halls should not be allowed for activities that go against the rules of all schools.
"Even if it is said to be rented by an independent body, if there is alcohol or gambling involved, that is not educating our children. It goes against our own educational concept and philosophy," Malay Mail quoted him as saying.
Anwar said Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek had briefed him on the incident, and that stricter guidelines are being considered to prevent similar cases in the future.
The alumni dinner was attended by about 800 people, where both food and alcohol were reportedly served
An opinion piece on Malaysiakini noted that the school involved is a mission school, and the dinner was a fundraising event — a crucial effort to support the institution, which reportedly receives government funding only for "teachers' salaries and little else".
"Disappointingly, PAS' desire to score political brownie points now means these gatherings are scrutinised as if the survival of society hangs on each toast.
"Even more absurd is the selective outrage. In one year, a former inspector-general of police was sitting a few tables away from mine. He and other senior civil servants had attended reunions with no fuss," the commentary read.
Meanwhile, DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng criticised Anwar's stance, saying the alcohol ban should not apply to non-student events
He also reminded the prime minister that many of these schools were built and funded by the Chinese community.
"This customary practice of allowing alcohol to be served at events like Chinese weddings, temple dinners, or entertainment events in Chinese public school halls outside school activities without student involvement has continued undisturbed since Merdeka in 1957.
"The unhappiness of the Chinese community is rooted in why Anwar allowed himself to dance to the tune of the extremists and racists by interfering, disrupting, and disturbing a customary arrangement that has not caused controversy or impacted in any negative manner on the Muslim community.
"Even when PAS was in government, PAS never interfered in Chinese primary schools and such activities continue undisturbed at Chinese school halls," Lim said.
