Gain wisdom from missteps and move on

IT is certainly an issue when taxpayers’ money is given away to schools in the name of a political party. One can say it is government funds, but for sure, the money did not come from a political party.

Party logos must not appear on mock cheques at any public functions, let alone at public schools. It is ethically incorrect.

The money does not belong to the DAP. If it comes from the party coffers, it’s a different story. The party can even put up rocket models on stage for all we care.

But if it is from government allocations, that simply means it belongs to the public. It includes taxpayers who do not support the DAP or Pakatan Harapan.

A distasteful precedent has been created, and Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming should not dismiss the matter by saying it’s a non-issue and that what matters most is that the schools received the funds.

The intentions may be good, but the execution was not well thought out. The optics was bad.

The unity government has come to power with promises of changes and reforms. It must take exemplary actions to prove that this is a New Malaysia for all Malaysians. It should not be more of the same or worse, creating incidents that smack of arrogance of power with echoes of previous governments, rightly or wrongly.

We expect higher standards from Pakatan leaders, which is a good thing for the government to live up to.

Several Barisan Nasional, which is part of the unity government, and Perikatan Nasional leaders have rightly questioned Nga on the use of the DAP and Pakatan logos on mock cheque donations issued to several schools in Ipoh.

It was reported that 17 Chinese primary and secondary schools in Perak were granted an allocation of RM1.8mil from the Education Ministry for repair and upgrading works.

Nga, who is also the Perak DAP chairman, was present to hand over the mock cheques to the schools.

“No issue. What’s most important is that the schools receive the donation,” Nga told reporters after an event at the ministry’s headquarters in Putrajaya following the controversy.

Malaysians do not want to see Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, for example, giving away state funds to schools in Kedah with the PAS logo on mock cheques.

And not wanting to lose out, next we may see Amanah leaders doing the same with federal funds by having the same theatrical antics with mock cheques carrying Amanah symbols.

There is nothing to stop Perikatan leaders from conducting similar actions, and if they do, we hope they are smart enough not to imitate the DAP, because they can also reply nonchalantly that it’s a non-issue.

Nga has already won much goodwill from Chinese community leaders for his ability to secure such a large amount of money for Chinese schools.

He could have even let Pakatan claim credit, but perhaps he got too excited about wanting his party to be remembered for its good efforts in securing the funds for the schools.

A better answer from Nga would be that he unintentionally overlooked the preparations for the event and thanked the critics for pointing this out, with the assurance that it would not happen again.

That would even win him more praise for his ability to take criticisms and his readiness to improve.

To err is human. We all make mistakes, and politicians are no different. Admitting our mistakes is not a sign of weakness but of maturity. Admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.

Not admitting a mistake is certainly a bigger mistake, but we hope that Nga will move on, take the criticisms sportingly and be more mindful from now on.

Our ministers can expect to come under very intense scrutiny from their fellow unity government partners, their Perikatan opponents, the social media, and Malaysians from now on.

There is no need to feel insecure with any form of criticism or be seen to lose one’s composure, as the effects will make bad optics, and with social media, they remain forever.