The Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) has been quick to approve assistance with 122,802 members of the Indian community benefitting from initiatives worth RM98.9 million, says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“Claims that Mitra did not give quick approval are untrue. The figures are there,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
S Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput) had earlier questioned Mitra’s effectiveness. Last week, meanwhile, fellow backbencher V Ganabatirau (PH-Klang) accused the unity government of failing to deliver aid to the community, blaming frequent leadership changes, bureaucracy, and a lack of long-term planning.
Anwar maintained that the government was committed to eradicating poverty across the country, including in 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.
Anwar said other programmes that benefitted the Indian community included the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) cash aid initiative, under which nearly RM500 million went to the community.
This year, almost RM972 million in STR aid will go to Indians, he added.
“If we say government assistance for the Indians is only through Mitra, that is not true,” Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said.
He said Indian families also benefitted from the housing credit guarantee scheme, with RM1.2 billion allocated for them, as well as 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.
Anwar said the Malaysian Indian Entrepreneurship Programme also helped support more than 400 micro-entrepreneurs in 2023, while agricultural assistance was provided through Mardi Corp Tani grants of RM20,000 each.
When asked by M Saravanan (BN-Tapah) about increasing the Indians’ share of the economy from 1.5% to 3%, Anwar said the government would continue to focus on health, education and housing issues, noting that estate workers were the poorest group in the ethnic community.
The prime minister also said Malay equity had not reached 30% despite the community making up about 60% of the population.
“I suggest we look at the framework in a holistic manner,” he said.
