Mitra slow in rendering assistance for the Indian community? Bollocks

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim brushed off allegations that the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) was slow in rendering assistance.

“Claims that Mitra did not give quick approval are untrue. The figures are there,” he said during Prime Minister Question Time this morning.

He pointed out that 122,082 Indians benefitted from Mitra initiatives which was worth RM98.9 million.

Anwar said this in response to a question from S Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput).

Last week backbencher V Ganabatirau (PH-Klang) alleged that the unity government failed in delivering aid to the community due to frequent leadership changes, bureaucracy, and a lack of long-term planning..

Anwar stressed that the government is committed towards eradicating poverty including for the Indian community.

“The government is not sidelining any race. The majority of the poor are Malays, so naturally there would be more programmes for them.

“But among the Indian community, although the numbers are smaller, there are groups who are relatively poorer. We must attend to them,” he said.

He further highlighted that community also benefitted from other government initiatives.

Via the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah cash aid initiative, nearly RM500 million was allocated for the Indians.

This year RM972 million have been allocated for Indians.

“If we say government assistance for the Indians is only through Mitra, that is not true,” Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said.

Through the housing credit guarantee scheme, RM1.2 billion were allocated for the Indians aside from early education subsidies and higher education assistance for students from lower-income households.

“For Tamil schools, 6,000 laptops were distributed in stages, alongside support for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. We also provided dialysis subsidies to 600 patients (from the Indian community),” he said.

The Malaysian Indian Entrepreneurship Programme supported more than 400 micro-entrepreneurs in 2023, while agricultural assistance was provided through Mardi Corp Tani grants of up to RM20,000 each.

Responding to a follow up question from Datuk Seri M Saravanan (PH-Tapah), the prime minister brushed aside the issue on raising the Indians’ share of 1.5% to 3%.

This is because the government is currently focusing on health, education and housing issues, noting that estate workers were the poorest group in the ethnic community.