PM announces govt raising Mitra allocation to RM150m
KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 — The government has agreed to increase the allocation to the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra) from RM100 million previously to RM150 million, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar said this was following the agency’s good performance in implementing Indian community development programmes.
The Prime Minister said the decision was made after the government assessed the effectiveness of various Mitra programmes targeted at Indian community groups who need assistance, particularly in the fields of education, training and socio-economic development.
“Mitra has special programmes, because it can combine the views of elite Indian scholars and representatives of Indian associations, but we must improve the programmes so that the funds really reach the groups in need,” he said.
He said this at an engagement session with Indian students at Universiti Malaya yesterday.
Also present at the event was Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R Ramanan.
Anwar said the Madani Government remained committed to ensuring that aid and development programmes were given fairly to the people regardless of race, including the Indian community who still face issues of poverty and marginalisation.
He said the government also paid attention to the governance aspect in the management of Mitra funds to ensure that aid reached the target group.
Anwar said programmes under Mitra not only involved welfare assistance, but also opened up educational and technical training opportunities for youth from the Indian community.
“Apart from food baskets and others, we have also added RM50 million in allocation for Mitra as we will try our best to help them continue their education,” he said.
At the event, Anwar also presented assistance for further studies at higher education institutions and Madani devices to selected students.
