PETALING JAYA: More education, skills training and entrepreneurship programmes for the Indian community are expected to be rolled out following the government’s decision to increase the allocation for the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra) to RM150mil.
Malaysian Tamil Media Association president Muthamil Manna, who welcomed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement of an additional RM50mil for Mitra, described it as a strong commitment towards strengthening the socioeconomic development of the Indian community.
“The increase in funding from RM100mil to RM150mil is truly encouraging news and reflects the government’s concern in listening to the needs of the community,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (May 12).
Muthamil also expressed appreciation to Human Resources Minister Ramanan Ramakrishnan for his proactive efforts in ensuring the funds are channelled to benefit the community.
He described the additional allocation as highly significant, saying increasing Mitra’s funding had long been among the Indian community’s key demands in addressing poverty and improving social mobility.
“We hope that with the larger allocation, more programmes related to education, skills training and entrepreneurship assistance can be implemented transparently for the wellbeing of the Indian community in need.
“The association also hopes that the government will continue to consistently provide assistance and opportunities fairly to all communities, in line with the principles of social justice championed by the Prime Minister,” he added.
Anwar announced the additional allocation during a meet-and-greet session with Indian university students at Universiti Malaya on Saturday (May 9).
He said the increase was granted following Mitra’s strong performance in implementing development programmes that had positively impacted target groups.
