THE recent revelation of political party symbols on mock cheques for school funding has raised legitimate concerns about the integrity of the allocation process and the separation of politics from governance duties.
This comes about after Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming handed mock cheques for school allocations adorned with the symbols of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and DAP over the weekend (Aug 19).
“We must recognise that the disbursement of public funds should not be tainted by partisanship with the intention of fostering a false association between the said funding and certain political entities,” MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon pointed out in a statement.
“Such actions not only blur the lines between political interests and public governance but also raises suspicions of a veiled attempt to deceive the public.”
The former deputy Education Minister I also recalled a previous incident earlier in May whereby Nga who is also the Teluk Intan MP accepted the naming of an administrative building in a national-type Chinese primary school after himself along with his ministerial position.
“Even with widespread condemnations and criticisms from various quarters, he (Nga) continues to abuse the allocation process as a tool for self-promotion,” lamented Mah.
“In December 2018 as well, Nga handed over a mock cheque for an RM240,000 allocation prominently featuring DAP’s logo to Taiping Hua Lian High School; and again in 2019, another RM300,000 mock cheque displaying PH’s logo.”
Given the gravity of the situation, Mah said it is incumbent upon the government to take decisive measures.
“We call for a thorough investigation into any power abuse by any ministers or parliamentarians as well as for Nga to publicly issue an earnest apology to the public and moving forward, be committed to upholding the principles of transparency and responsible governance.” – Aug 23, 2023
