The invitation was extended by Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung of PKR, who said he would explain to Tuan Ibrahim why the Chinese community holds education in near-religious fervour, Malaysiakini reported.

Lee was quoted as saying: “I am willing to do my best to attend and explain to him the history of Chinese education, the Chinese community’s near-religious fervour towards education, and the contributions of Chinese national-type schools to a diverse society.”

He also urged PAS to stop creating more misinformation, after Tuan Ibrahim accused the government of allocating more funds to government-aided schools than to national schools.

Tuan Ibrahim also demanded that private funds for educational purposes be channelled through the education ministry to ensure fairness.

Fund-raising for Chinese schools has become a political football after PAS criticised a deputy minister who was shown accepting a RM3 million mock cheque with a Tiger Beer logo at a fund-raising event for SJK(C) Tche Min in Sungai Pelek, Selangor.

However, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Tiger Beer had sponsored a charity concert by the parent-teacher association and did not directly channel any funds to the school.

Tuan Ibrahim’s remarks about funds for Chinese schools came after former MP Kua Kia Soong said Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools were forced to raise funds because of “unequal financial allocations” from the government.

Kua had also called on PAS to make it part of their manifesto to ensure Chinese and Tamil schools are given fair and proportionate financial allocation by the state.