Chinese Primary School Halls Can Continue Serving Alcohol At Events

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The Cabinet has unanimously agreed that Chinese primary school halls will not be affected by any proposed alcohol restrictions, following concerns raised by several Chinese ministers during a meeting today, 24 October

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 were among those who argued that such halls are often rented out for community events, weddings, and fundraisers, and should remain under existing rules, reported Sin Chew Daily.

Their appeal was supported by other Cabinet members, including those from UMNO, who said they understood the cultural reasons behind renting out school halls for such occasions.

This decision effectively means that the Education Ministry will maintain the current regulations, with no new rules introduced to ban alcohol at events held in these halls.

The clarification came after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent remarks that "alcoholic drinks should not be served within school compounds", which had sparked a wave of backlash from the Chinese community

Anwar made the remarks in Parliament yesterday, 23 October, in response to PAS Member of Parliament (MP) Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who questioned reports of alcohol being served at a school alumni dinner in Ipoh.

The prime minister had said that even if a school hall is rented to external parties, events involving alcohol or gambling go against the spirit of education.

The issue quickly drew criticism from DAP leaders, including party advisor Lim Guan Eng, who said such restrictions should not apply to non-student events held after school hours.

Lim reminded Anwar that many Chinese schools were built and funded by the community itself, and that serving alcohol at weddings, temple dinners, or cultural events in school halls has been a longstanding custom since independence.

He added that even under PAS-led governments, such practices were never interfered with.

Today's Cabinet decision appears to have settled the matter, at least for now, reassuring Chinese communities that their school hall events can continue as usual.