FORMER Penang deputy chief minister II Prof P. Ramasamy said PAS must respect Gerakan’s stand on alcohol companies donating to schools.

This is following PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari’s statement on Sunday (July 28) expressing disappointment over Gerakan’s stand on the matter.

Fadhli also did not rule out the possibility that both parties would not work together in the 16th General Election (GE16) if Gerakan remained consistent with such a stance.

“Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau merely stated that the government should not curb funding from private organisations to Chinese vernacular schools as government funding for Chinese schools is not sufficient,” Ramasamy said in a statement on Facebook today.

“It is not clear whether PAS opposes funding for Chinese schools from breweries or it is opposed to the existence of the Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools in the country.”

The Rights of the Malaysian Party (Urimai) chairman said Gerakan being in the opposition alliance must be treated with respect and dignity and that while the party might have lost its political clout, it still had a role in the opposition alliance.

“I don’t think Gerakan will get any support from the Chinese community or the non-Malays if it merely echoes the views of PAS,” he pointed out.

National political party

According to Ramasamy, PAS had recently taken steps to gain support from the non-Malays in line with its aspirations to become a national political party.

However, he noted that the party might be confined as a regional party if it continues to adopt a hard-line opposition to the existence of vernacular schools and the rights of the non-Malays.

“I really wonder how PAS is going to get the support of the non-Malays in the country if it continues go against the vernacular schools in the country,” Ramasamy remarked.

“The statement by Fadhli chastising Gerakan doesn’t augur well for PAS to be accepted by the non-Malays in the country.

“In the Sungai Bakap by-Election, PAS’ support for the building of the abandoned Sungai Bakap Tamil school earned some goodwill among the Indians in Penang. This was why Indians in the constituency had voted for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) political alliance.”

Ramasamy further stressed that for PAS to get the support and goodwill of the non-Malays, the top leadership must caution second and third echelon leaders from questioning the rights of the non-Malays especially the existence of vernacular schools.

“PN might have the majority support of the Malays in the country, but the future support of the non-Malays is essentially for taking prominent role at the nation level,” he stated.

“If PAS adopts a non-antagonistic attitude towards the rights of the non-Malays, the politics of the country might change for the better.

“It will definitely throw asunder the opportunistic politics of the present ruling coalition that masquerades around as the true representative of the non-Malays.”

It was reported that Gerakan had taken the same stance as DAP that alcohol or tobacco companies should not be prevented from donating funds to Chinese vernacular schools.

Lau claimed that this is because Chinese vernacular schools have not been given sufficient funds by the federal government to operate.

Lau said all the facilities and amenities currently considered the best in Chinese vernacular schools are the result of external funding contributions, not only from large companies but also from small traders and hawkers. - July 28, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/school-donation-row-pas-must-respect-gerakans-views-says-ramasamy/