马来西亚华文教育与筹款活动—华人文化传统的实践 Malaysian Chinese Education and Fund-raising Activities: Chinese Traditional Culture in Practice

Abstract

华人对教育有很高的期望，坚持华文教育的生存与发展是马来西亚华人社会的文化传统。因此，为了维护华教而担起沉重经费已成为华社责无旁贷的职责。然而，华人社群处在权力中心之外，在官方体制内难以获得适当的教育津贴与奖学金分配，他们因而发挥了本身的文化传统，来维护和确保本身的合法利益。

本文将略探华社筹款活动的现象及其背后的精神。华人以“仁”、“义”、“善”的文化精神护航华教，而此“仁”、“义”与“善”的美德源自于个人对华教的关怀与爱。华社的教育捐款来源包括个人、企业、社团和基金会等，其中一些募款已被制度化，即通过定期为学校和地方社团的方式进行筹款，当中，《南洋商报》和皇帽啤酒公司联合主办的“十大义演”最为典型。此义演展现了华社在文化精神上的“内化”，他们出钱出力，为教育作出贡献。

Education is a top priority among the Chinese community in Malaysia. One of the cultural traditions of the Chinese is to ensure the continued existence and development of Chinese education. Bearing the heavy financial costs of maintaining these schools is looked upon as a cultural duty. As a community that lacks political clout and whose schools are short on official allocations, the Chinese have to rely on their cultural traditions of self-help to secure their legitimate interests.

The resolve to ensure the existence of Chinese schools is derived from an internalized cultural spirit that is sustained by the core values of “benevolence”, “righteousness” and “charitableness”. These values are the sources of love and concern that are extended to the larger community in support especially of education so as to realize personal potentials and nurture talents. Funds in support of 
education come from individuals, business, Chinese associations and foundations. Certain fund-raising events have been institutionalized among which the “Top Ten Charity Concert” jointly sponsored by the Nanyang Press and Carlsberg is an excellent example. This concert is an expression of cultural practice in the daily life of the Chinese that is manifested freely and spontaneously. This paper will examine fund-raising attempts in support of Chinese education and their cultural significance.