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"Why is Tiger Beer Not Just A Beer

To The Chinese" 

Tiger Beer’s Donation For Chinese Schools – DAP Should Withdraw Support If Anwar Govt Bans

The 30-Year-OId Charity

FINANCE TWITTER 

July 24th, 2024

On Nov 23, 2023, Heineken Malaysia successfully raised RM26,354,318.50 for Chinese schools – the highest amount recorded in a year since the inception of “Tiger Chinese Education Charity Concert (Tiger CECC)” programme in 1994. The funds raised were more than doubled its initial 2023 target of RM12 million, thanks to overwhelming response and the generosity of the concert attendees.

Not only the money raised was able to support the upgrading of seven schools, but also contributed to UTAR Hospital’s development in Kampar, Perak. The Chinese schools having benefited from the charity in 2023 alone included Nan Hwa High School, SJKC Chio Min A&B, SJKC Mentakab (2), SJKC Damansara, SJKC Yu Ming, SMJK Chan Wa, and SJKC Kheng Chee.

Since the noble programme started in 1994, it has raised over RM413 million, benefiting 542 schools across Malaysia thus far. And for almost 30 years, thousands of students, especially the ethnic Chinese minority, have been struggling to get basic education due to lack of funding from the government’s apartheid policies, despite the fact that the Chinese pay 90% of taxes.

Yes, for as long as the Chinese can remember, they have to beg for donations every single year from the public so that their schools have money to operate. One of the fastest ways to raise money is through charity concerts, which would involve sponsorship from some huge organizations like Dutch brewer Heineken or from tycoons such as billionaire Robert Kuok.

To Heineken, who splashed US$4.6 billion in 2012 to acquire Singapore-based Fraser and Neave’s (F&N) stake in Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), who launched Singapore’s first locally brewed beer – Tiger Beer – in 1932, such charity is part of its social impact programme. To Chinese philanthropist and business mogul, it’s part of the culture and belief that education and economic empowerment are key to ending poverty.

This is something that heavily-pampered Malays can never understand. Try to interfere in the economy and education of the Chinese community, and you are looking for trouble. Thanks to the generosity of the Chinese community, many urban and suburban Chinese schools are well developed with school buildings and infrastructure. Again, this is something which PAS Islamist party will never understand.

In their quest to destroy the Chinese schools – perhaps out of jealousy – conservative and extremist Malays have been cooking excuses to close down such educational institutions. From blaming the Chinese or Tamil schools for creating the ethnic and cultural division in the country, to forcing students to learn Jawi Khat, Malay politicians have been using vernacular schools to score brownie points.

In another disgusting attempt to interfere in Chinese education, PAS racists and extremists have condemned a school charity event sponsored by Tiger Beer. The event, which was held on July 19 and took place at SJK(C) Tche Min in Sungai Pelek, Sepang, was accused by Selangor PAS Youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar of normalising alcohol in schools due to Tiger’s participation.

First of all, the charity, which saw Tiger Beer contributed RM3 million to build a hall, was a private affair and had nothing to do with Malay Muslims. Even if it promotes beer among Chinese students, which isn’t the case, why is the Islamist party so offended till foaming at the mouth? After all, beer or alcoholic consumption is part of the Chinese culture. In fact, the Book of Han states that “alcohol is paramount among all etiquette”.

Therefore, drinking culture is not only very important to the Chinese, but Chinese people drink alcohol to celebrate a memorable occasion, to socialize, or simply to compliment a nice meal. The website DrinkBaijiu says that Chinese people started making and consuming alcohol more than 9,000 years ago. So, who is PAS to lecture the Chinese who can or cannot donate to their schools?

Second – after 30 years of sponsorship from Tiger Beer, there isn’t a single case of student getting drunk in school. On the contrary, Chinese schools have been producing so many talents and instilling fabulous discipline that there are almost 100,000 Malay students enrolled in the Chinese schools – representing 20% of total student population in the same schools that PAS accused of being infected with alcohol.

While the vernacular schools consistently maintain its quality, the same cannot be said about national-type schools, popularly known as Malay schools. Bullying and violence are normal in Malay schools, despite tonnes of hours of religious studies. Even an elite “all-Malay” school called MCKK (Malay College Kuala Kangsar) – dubbed the “Eton College of the East” – was plagued with bullying case last year.

Instead of worrying about Chinese students intoxicated or influenced by alcohol, PAS and its religious extremists within the same time-zone should worry about religious teachers in tahfiz schools happily sodomising Malay-Muslim students. As recent as April this year, a tahfiz school headmaster was charged for sodomising three boys over a three-year period. Not only tahfiz schools operate illegally, they are in the business of sex abuses. 

Third – Tiger Beer is a tax-paying local company, paying a total of RM1 billion in excise, customs duties, and sales tax – the “forbidden money” which goes into the pockets of PAS leaders like the despicable Selangor PAS Youth Chief Mohamed Sukri in the form of monthly salary, allowance and perks. So, when Tiger makes donations to Chinese schools, they make noise. But when Tiger pays taxes, they keep quiet.

PAS lawmakers should propose in the Parliament to separate money derived from sin taxes collected from the sale of cigarettes, liquor, tobacco, pork or gambling, so that those “haram” (forbidden) money can only be used for non-Muslims. Such dirty money cannot be used to pay wages or pensions for Malay civil servants, maintenance of UiTM or MARA, acquisition of Mercedes Benz for Muslim politicians and the list goes on.

If the conservative Malays still have an ounce of dignity, they should strongly reject the 90% taxes paid by “kafir Chinese”, and use only Zakat money contributed by Muslims. To ensure transparency and “halal-ness” of money collected, the government should have two Finance Ministers – a Malay to take care of Muslim treasury and a non-Malay to manage non-Muslim treasury.

Fourth – the Education Ministry guidelines, which prohibit the acceptance of donations generated from activities such as gambling, as well as the sale of tobacco, drugs and alcohol, was introduced on March 29, 2018 during the previous Barisan Nasional government. But as the name suggests, it was merely a guideline, not the Bible casts in stone.

The burning question is why critics hadn’t made a noise till today? Tiger Beer was doing the same charity even when PAS was part of the backdoor regime of Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri from March 2020 to November 2022. Why the Islamist party insists it’s an issue now, but not when it was in the government? Likewise, Chinese traitor like MCA is equally guilty for agreeing to the guidelines.

Fifth – what is a sin company to Malay is a saviour to the Chinese. The reason why Heineken Tiger Beer generously donates tens of millions every year to the Chinese schools is because the company makes profit from the same community. The company is just contributing back to the society. And this is done legally and within the Chinese ecosystem, which had nothing to do with the Malays.

More importantly, primary Chinese students are intelligent enough to differentiate between a Tiger logo and actually drinking the beer. Holier than thou tahfiz religious teachers, on the other hand, can’t differentiate between educating small boys and sodomising them. Malay extremists should mind their own business, as the Chinese aren’t interested of 72 virgins in the afterlife.

Clearly, PAS was trying to provoke Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP), and at the same time inciting Malay nationalist party UMNO as well as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s party PKR (People’s Justice Party) and Amanah, whose Wanita Chief Aiman Athirah was participating in the school charity event sponsored by Tiger Beer.

The Islamist party knew how desperate narcissist Anwar is to prove himself as more Malay and Muslim than the Opposition Perikatan Nasional, which comprises PAS and Bersatu. As predicted, Anwar’s most useless and clueless minister – Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek – foolishly swallowed the hook, line and sinker. She said all vernacular schools must comply with the half-baked donation guidelines.

The best part – Anwar has donated RM100 million to the Palestinians, who drink alcohol. Taybeh is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, 15 kilometers northeast of Jerusalem and 12 kilometers northeast of Ramallah. But in this remote holy land, Oktoberfest celebration has been held since 2005, where celebration offers beer competitions and other performances. And Taybeh is where you can find the only Palestinian beer brewery.

However, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh, who is a member of DAP, has strongly condemned the attempts to politicise the issue. DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said he will “brief” the Cabinet on Wednesday (July 24), hinting that the guidelines should be revised. He said – “The guidelines should not have such restrictions, at least not for Chinese primary schools.”

It’s not rocket science that Loke most likely has warned the Cabinet about the risk of losing 95% Chinese votes if the Anwar-led unity government dances to the tune of PAS extremists. The solution is incredibly easy – give full or equal allocation to all Chinese schools the same way Malay schools are given every year and voila, Tiger Beer won’t have to do charity any more.

It is both unfair and cruel that the education ministry imposed restrictions on who can or cannot donate to Chinese schools, but at the same time refused to provide full funding for the schools. But in the event PM Anwar refuses to order his lapdog to revise the guidelines, DAP should prepare to withdraw support for the spineless government as the angry Chinese voters will definitely punish both PKR and DAP.

Chief-instigator UMNO Youth leader Akmal Salleh has slammed Anthony Loke for defending brewery’s donation for Chinese school. If the DAP chief continues to be bullied by a junior UMNO leader like Akmal, the Chinese community will lose respect for DAP. If the party, despite possessing 40-MP, can’t defend the interest of the minority community it claims to represent, it is no different than MCA.