Putting MITRA Under KESUMA Won't Jeopardise Welfare Of Indian Community - Ramanan

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (MITRA) may be under the Human Resource Ministry (KESUMA), but that doesn't alter its original mandate of being an agency specifically responsible for the socio-economic development of the Indian community.

Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said that, instead, the move has strengthened the MADANI Government's commitment to ensuring the agenda of welfare, social mobility and human capital development of the Indian community is implemented in a more integrated and high-impact manner.

"In this regard, the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) is of the view that placing MITRA under KESUMA will not affect that principle, but instead strengthen MITRA's position by comprehensively integrating the agenda of Indian community development into the country's human resource development,” he said during the Minister's Question Time session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying to a question from Kalam Salan (PN-Sabak Bernam), who asked if the government could assure that placing MITRA under KESUMA wouldn't jeopardise the interests and welfare of the Indian community, given the ministry's existing heavy workload.

Ramanan said the move was done to ensure the planning, implementation and monitoring of MITRA programmes could be done in an organised, systematic and effective manner, in line with the policies of workforce development, employability, skills improvement and social protection under KESUMA.

He said it would, at the same time, strengthen the governance, transparency and accountability of MITRA's allocation and programme management.

Replying to a supplementary question from Kalam regarding allegations of the total failure of MITRA's aid application in 2025 in the Sabak Bernam area, as well as the issue of assistance for university students, Ramanan said all recipients of MITRA aid programmes are displayed on the agency's official website.

He said that for the university graduate first-year programme, about RM4,000 in financial aid was channelled in phases to eligible recipients.

For the laptop assistance, he said 3,000 new laptops, purchased by Yayasan Didik Negara, have been and are being distributed to students in public and private institutions of higher learning.

He said the aid application is implemented based on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Many of the implemented programmes have already achieved excellent status,” he said, adding that RM48.874 million has also been disbursed to the recipients so far, with the balance of the allocation still being channelled.

Replying to a supplementary question from Azil Yusof (PH-Shah Alam) about the involvement of local service centres and community leaders, Ramanan said an allocation of RM100,000 in 2023 was disbursed not based on parliamentary constituency, but based on districts with the highest density of Indian residents.

He added that in 2024, MITRA implemented various other programmes, including empowerment of houses of worship, aid for school maintenance, minor repairs, assistance for plantation workers, student device programmes, kindergartens, as well as public facilities and security for Indian villages.

As such, Ramanan said his ministry had given an assurance that for this year, additional targeted allocation programmes would be re-implemented with the involvement of Members of Parliament and local leaders.

-- BERNAMA