Since 1987, Carlsberg Malaysia’s charity campaign has raised RM601.8 million for over 700 schools and educational institutions nationwide — entirely through concert fundraising shows, with the formal endorsement of Deputy Minister of Education Wong Kah Woh.
This November, the Top Ten Charity Campaign returns with five fundraising shows across the Klang Valley, targeting a combined RM6.5 million for five Chinese vernacular schools.
SJKC On Pong 2 in Ampang carries the heaviest ask at RM3 million, earmarked for an auditorium and administrative building.
SJKC Yak Chee in Puchong follows at RM1.5 million for a teaching complex.
The shows run on 13, 21, 27, 28 and 29 November.
Beyond the five concert schools, the campaign extends two quieter allocations.
Dong Zong, the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia and one of the country’s most prominent Chinese education advocacy groups, receives RM10,000 for its Chinese Education Complex and Future Education Fund.
SJKT Ladang Dovenby in Sungai Siput, Perak — a Tamil school on a rubber estate — receives RM50,000 to advance Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.
Murthy Vinaigar, vice chairman of the school’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), said the school had long hoped for a dedicated STEM learning facility.
Changing the Model, Not Ending the Mission
Wong delivered the keynote address at the campaign’s press conference in Shah Alam.
He thanked the organiser for 39 years of support and said he looked forward to continued collaboration.
Wong said the government needed to move away from a model in which Chinese school development depended primarily on community fundraising, corporate donations and developer land contributions.
Eligible new and relocated Chinese schools, he said, should be incorporated into national development plans and funded directly by the government.
He cited the relocation of SJK(C) Yik Wah in Taiping, Perak — a school that once had only four pupils — as a working example.
The Education Ministry disbursed RM2.5 million in March to purchase approximately five acres of land in Ipoh.
The new premises will have 24 classrooms; tender procedures are ongoing.
I hope the tender can be completed this year, after which the Prime Minister will be invited to officiate the groundbreaking.
He was direct about what the shift means for community fundraising: it does not end, but its purpose changes.
We are not saying society no longer needs to donate. We are saying the government must do more.
The Next Phase: Fund the Student, Not Just the School
Where community money goes next, he suggested, is toward students rather than structures — funding competitions, inter-school exchanges and individual development programmes that the Education Ministry’s own budget cannot adequately cover.
From overseas competitions to inter-school exchanges within the same district, these activities also require resources.
The longer ambition is institutional.
Wong said the government hopes the Yik Wah relocation sets a precedent that survives any change in administration.
No matter who becomes minister, deputy minister, or government in the future — this path must continue.
The Malaysia Book of Records recognises Top Ten as the country’s longest-running and highest-fundraising charity show supporting education.
Carlsberg Malaysia Managing Director Stefano Clini said the campaign had evolved alongside the communities it serves, broadening from Chinese vernacular schools to include institutions in East Malaysia and, more recently, STEM-focused learning.
The campaign also incorporates sustainability commitments aligned with SDG 13 (Climate Action) — including reducing single-use plastics and promoting waste segregation at concert venues.
All photos by the writer. For non-Muslim consumers aged 21 and above. Drink responsibly. Do not drink and drive.
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