KOTA KINABALU: Sixty per cent of the nearly 100,000 applications received for the first phase of the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family Student Device) programme were approved through initial screening, and the devices will be distributed this month, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa (pic).
He said the ministry was trying to complete the rollout of the devices under phase one by this month, before running phase two next month and completing it by this November.
“Almost 400,000 units will be distributed this year. If we need more than that, the government will have to decide on an additional allocation and procurement, but let us settle with what we have now.
“We hope to complete distribution under phases one and two in 90 days, and this will involve the cooperation of several parties in order to cut red tape and expedite the rollout for the students to have the devices immediately,” he told reporters here yesterday, Bernama reported.
He said this after a ceremony to handover the devices to 493 students of the Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic in Sepanggar here. The event was also attended by Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Yakub Khan.
Annuar said the rollout of the devices will be expedited and a distribution schedule has been prepared for coordination purposes with suppliers, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, due to the logistics challenges in the interior areas.
On Sept 3, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob launched the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia initiative to provide branded tablets to B40 students in need.
