PETALING JAYA: Budget 2026 has been described as a people-centric budget reflecting the Madani government's commitment to strengthening inclusive and comprehensive development.
Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said his ministry has introduced several initiatives to support the Indian community, following an increase in the ministry's development allocation to implement them.
"We can see that MITRA, TEKUN, and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) programmes received a total of RM220mil, but as we have often said, we cannot focus only on the budget figures. For instance, the Education Ministry received RM66bil, which also includes allocations for Tamil and Chinese vernacular schools.
"The amount allocated for upgrading Chinese and Indian new villages this time is RM90mil. Therefore, we have to consider other initiatives being carried out by the ministries. We see that the Madani government will not leave behind any community or citizen, everyone will be taken care of," he said.
He told this to reporters after opening the Madani Cooperative and Entrepreneur Sales event, held in conjunction with the Deepavali 2025 celebrations here Saturday (Oct 11).
Ramanan said his ministry has allocated nearly RM500mil this year for various entrepreneurship programmes focusing on strengthening the economic position of the Indian community, among them: RM100mil for AIM, RM100mil for the Bank Rakyat Indian Entrepreneur Financing-i (Brief-i) programme under Bank Rakyat and RM100mil for the Special Empowerment Fund for Indian Women (PENN).
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when tabling Budget 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat, said the Indian community will also benefit from socio-economic programmes under the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra), National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (Tekun) and AIM, amounting to RM220mil.
Ramanan also thanked the Prime Minister for helping the people ahead of the Deepavali celebrations, including the RM2bil Rahmah Cash Contribution (STR), which would be disbursed starting from Oct 18 onwards, and the 50% toll discount for two days to ease travel for those returning to their hometowns or going on holiday for the festival.
On allocations for his constituency, he said the government has approved the second phase of the Sungai Buloh flood mitigation project, allocating RM700mil, following last year's approval of the first phase, which was worth RM250mil.
He said that the project would benefit residents, as Sungai Buloh frequently experiences flash floods that have affected nearly 2,000 victims, adding that he expects the completion of the second phase to reduce flood risks significantly.
In addition, he said the construction of two new schools in his constituency was also announced under Budget 2026, one in Eco Grandeur and another special education school in Kota Damansara.
Meanwhile, the programme, organised by the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM) and held simultaneously in Paya Jaras, featured cooperatives offering a range of necessities, including sugar, flour, cooking oil, eggs and fresh produce, as well as festive items like muruku and kerepek, with discounts of up to 50 per cent.
Among the cooperatives participating in the programme were Koperasi Jabatan Penjara Malaysia Berhad, Koperasi Pengguna Rezza Selangor Berhad, Koperasi Keluarga Ibu Azmi Selangor Berhad, Koperasi Marutham Selangor Berhad and Koperasi Pembangunan Daerah Petaling Berhad.
At the same event, Ramanan also handed over food basket donations from SKM to 50 recipients from the Kota Damansara community who will be celebrating Deepavali on Oct 20. – Bernama
