Yoursay: Taking the fun out of the Hope Fund?

YOURSAY | ‘Every comment is publicised when a quiet word in private to resolve matters would suffice.’

Kid donates savings to Tabung Harapan, PKR leader slams 'gimmick'

Enlightened: Kudos to the 12-year-old Ervin Devadasan for donating his piggybank to Tabung Harapan Malaysia.

PKR acting like opposition again. Give us a break. The party supreme council member Latheefa Koya apparently does not understand patriotism, or that a small gesture from a young person like Ervin goes a long way.

Like the old saying goes, with friends like these, you don’t need enemies. Not happy with your colleagues in Pakatan Harapan, give them a call. In private. Still not happy? Leave the party.

Berani Kerana Benar: Patriotism should be cultivated from young, and Ervin ought to be applauded for showing it.

If Latheefa is uncomfortable with a Standard Six pupil giving up his money, then she can relay them to her colleagues, instead of mounting a public attack.

Sadly, her words will be remembered the next time PKR comes around asking for election funds.

Ah-hah: I had to remind myself that Latheefa is on Harapan’s side and try to see what sort of logic or sense there may be in her tirade. But I see none – except that the fund is named Tabung Harapan.

Personally, I would have thought it wiser to name it with something else which does not tie in with the coalition, say Tabung Malaysia.

That said, Latheefa’s fire and brimstone is for nought. Ervin of his own volition decided to donate to the Hope Fund, and was not to be dissuaded, even though Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh tried to do so.

As such, it was good that his determination be rewarded by offering him the opportunity to hand over his contribution at a meeting with DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang.

Anonymous_a01a7b4a: What on earth is going on at PKR? All these outbursts from their leaders – from Rafizi Ramli to Latheefa to Dr Idris Ahmad to Anwar Ibrahim himself – it shows that their president, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, has no control over them, or rather that they have no respect for her.

Do you see other Harapan leaders blasting their own coalition partners as and when they feel like doing so?

Susahkes: As Latheefa says, “No more stunts, no more gimmicks, just do the work.” In case she hasn't noticed, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his team have been working non-stop from day one.

But what a show from PKR’s coterie of rattling horns. Are they just itching to leave Harapan? First, there was Rafizi and Wong Chen, berating Mahathir for his cabinet appointments.

Then, Anwar joined the line of dart-throwers just as fast as he was released from Sungai Buloh, offering everyone his wisdom on governance, but barely able to hide the simmering ambition within.

It's bad enough that most drama - apart from the DBKL support letter fiasco and the Umno election – is coming from PKR's camp. And now Latheefa avails herself as the leading soprano. And aimed at who? A 12-year old boy. Who could barely be faulted as to his motivation; he's only 12.

And why would a political veteran like Lim need cheap publicity? He has more stripes in his soul than any drum-set money could buy. Really, Latheefa, who's continuing to act like the opposition now?

Mano: If the Harapan cabinet is so busy, why did Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng indulged a few big tycoons in Penang a few weeks back who needed media attention when donating to Tabung Harapan.

Later, a comment came in that some of the donors are of dubious backgrounds. I’m not sure whether this is true, but one thing is for certain. Some of those in Harapan really ought to have better things to do. 

I totally agree with Latheefa. If the child had just suddenly appeared with a piggy bank in hand, then it is only right to accept so as not to destroy his keenness and an early patriotic experience.

Nevertheless, the child appears to have been prepared. The politicians were prepared to accept him at the event, and the child was ready with a script to talk to the press too.

I totally disagree with the way this has been handled. Why did not an elder family member applaud the child's wish and have that donation be done quietly online?

It would have served as a great lesson to the boy. We need to teach children that we can be of great help without making a big show out of it.

That would have been a start for him to continuously be of help quietly whatever circumstances without needing public validation in turn.

Anonymous_7180953: Latheefa hit the nail on the head. It’s not about the kid. Good for him to care and all, but it is about turning this Milo tin begging-style patriotism into a circus.

We elected people to run the country and increase business and investment, not to go around and ask people to show their patriotism by putting money into a tin can for them to pay the national debt. If that were the case, we might as well elect a charity into power.

The people who are criticising Latheefa don’t even understand what she is saying. She is not running down the kid heartlessly, she is telling off those exploiting him as a prop.

Don’t turn this into a circus. Instead of finding ways to improve foreign investment or get better sustainable income for the country, they waste time with this joke.

Why doesn’t Harapan take its Milo tin overseas and ask foreign countries who love Malaysia to donate?

After all, they are already taking donations from corrupt developers and businesses who now pretend they care, and hope by their donation they don’t face the music.

Roast Mah: Indeed, Latheefa has a valid point. If a boy wants to give money to the fund, great. Leave it at that and move on.

I think Lim and Anwar are ‘idle’, hence they comment from the outside. I say give them something to do. Reward Lim with an ambassadorship and make Anwar a foreign minister at large – which he seems to be doing anyway.

Also, it is obvious that Malaysians are an argumentative lot, and best at self-destruction. Why this enthusiasm for splitting the coalition?

Every comment is publicised when a quiet word in private to resolve matters would suffice. This is true of both politicians and the rakyat.

Gemas: When I first heard about this, I thought, what could possibly be wrong about a young boy giving a donation.

But after reading through Latheefa’s full statement, I tend to agree with her - Harapan should just stick to managing the country.

Anonymous 690791505470938: I agree with Latheefa. Malaysians need to grow up, especially the elected representatives.

Hannah, your job is not to hop from Big Pharma to another kid show. We had a whole bunch of BN fellows who are intellectually deficient and were fooling the people. Let’s not continue with that.

Tok Wah: Want to score brownie points, Latheefa? Instead of taking to social media, why not just buy a drum set and donate it to Ervin? Then everybody wins, no?

The boy gets something in return for his show of patriotism, you get some good coverage. -Mkini