Batu MP Prabakaran appointed new Mitra chairman

PETALING JAYA: Batu MP P. Prabakaran has been appointed as the new Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra) Special Committee chairman under the Prime Minister's Department.

Prabakaran will replace Datuk R Ramanan, who held the post since April last year.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Prabakaran’s appointment will take effect immediately.

“The appointment is to replace Ramanan who is currently carrying out his duties as the Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister,” it said in a statement on Wednesday (Feb 7).

It added that the Prime Minister hopes this appointment will ensure that Mitra continues to carry out its duties and responsibilities in raising the status and socio-economic situation of the Indian community.

Ramanan was appointed Deputy Minister in December during a Cabinet reshuffle which saw the number of ministers increased from 28 to 31, while the number of deputy ministers was increased from 27 to 29.

In December, Ramanan said Mitra had achieved 100% of its targets last year.

Ramanan also said Mitra had successfully cleaned up its image and moved past accusations of mismanagement of funds, as reflected in an official rating of "low risk" from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for last year.

In 2022, Mitra was probed by the MACC for alleged misappropriation of funds from 2019 to 2021.

It was previously called the Socioeconomic Development of the Indian Community Unit (Sedic), before it was renamed Mitra in 2018.

Mitra was initially under the National Unity Ministry, but was transferred to the oversight of the Prime Minister’s Department in September 2022.

In December, Mitra was placed back under the purview of the National Unity Ministry.