MITRA - Adverts in Tamil? What about the non-Tamil Indian Malaysians? Non-Tamil reading? Sad wastage of monies for wrong 'purposes'?

In an earlier post, I criticized Anwar's PH-led coalition government that continues BN style approach - where 3 Indian MPs were 'appointed' to help Indian Malaysians vide a vehicle known as Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit(MITRA) ---WHY?

3 More MPs appointed to 'government agency' > Only Indian MPs can help Indian Malaysians > is that not same as the BN practice? Reform Political Appointments

 

Wow, the advert to apply for assistance is in TAMIL - how many Indian Malaysians can even read Tamil? Can this communication only for Indian Malaysians that can read TAMIL - this is certainly discriminatory. Indian Malaysians include Punjabi, Telugu, Gujurati, Malayalee(Kerala), Telugu,... - and all these different Indian Malaysian ethnic groups have their own language - spoken and written. {That is WHY when MIC was first formed, the language used was English - ...}

John Aloysius Thivy (Tamil: ஜான் திவி)(1904–1959) was a Malayan Indian politician and former lawyer who was the founding president of the Malayan Indian Congress.  Sardar Budh Singh, the second Malayan Indian Congress (MIC ) president...

And REMEMBER, that Malaysian Indians comprises of many different ethnic groups - Punjabis, Telugus, Malayalees, Gujurati, etc...not just Tamils. {Remember that when MIC was formed, the language used was English...It was only after Sambanthan(the 5th President), did it start to change into a 'Tamil party' using more and more Tamil] 

 

In the earlier post, I was opposed the idea of creating different ethnic-based government entities to deal with particular ethnic groups > In Malaysia, there should only be Malaysian government entities dealing with all Malaysians irrespective of ethnicity, religion

Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit(MITRA) - so what about the Pakistani Malaysians, the Sri Lankan Malaysians(which include the Ceylonese), the Bangladeshi Malaysians, the Thai Malaysians, the Chinese Malaysians, the Indonesian Malaysians, the... is our Anwar Ibrahim's PH-led coalition government going to have many Malaysian ------Transformation Unit(MITRA) to deal with the different ethnic groups in Malaysia? 

 

Why is Anwar following the BN approach in dealing with the problems in Malaysian - Note that the Alliance, then the BN, main 3 political parties represented the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians - so the BN strategy to allow its ethnic-based component parties to deal with the ethnic groups they represent(or aspire to represent) may have some justification... 

RM2,000 to assist 10,000 second to fourth year students in public universities with their tuition fees > RM20 million wasted?

 

Why are you even wasting monies assisting students who are already in University - they would already be on some scholarship or on some student loans >  if not, the poor will not be there in university... Further, the Federal government and/or State government would help them - as they do help all Malaysians, don't they? The bigger problem is the education of students at the school levels - so much so many never even make it to Universities or even High school > Monies best expended at this level - maybe even for 'tuition programs' or even supplying smartphones/lap-tops to help facilitate online classes... DOES Mitra even know how poverty and 'lack of access' have affected students? How many? Where?

 

One of the 'biggest problem' facing a lot of Malaysian Indians have been 'Statelessness' - yes, for some reason or other, many in the poorer classes still do not have the Malaysian citizenship - although factually they ought to be. Not having the Malaysian citizenship, means that they may not be able to even go to school or get a job. Some may have a PR(Permanent Residency) status, when they should be citizens - those with PR ('or red IC') have difficulty even getting a job - more so regular employment, and therefore could be easily exploited by bad employers...How any 'stateless' Indian Malaysian children are there?

MARA provides skills training for Malays generally - Is there adequate skills training facilities for people who do not fare well in formal school education? Montfort Boys Home does provide good skills training - maybe MITRA could have provided funds, or provided scholarships to qualified students to gain skills in Montfort?

But, wasting RM20 million for university students in PUBLIC Universities is questionable --- What about those in private universities having failed to get entry because of "Quotas"? Can R.Ramanan and gang justify the spending of this monies?

 

Some people, many are Indian Malaysians, are in DETENTION simply because they simply did not have  access to MONEY so that they can post BAIL and be released now. These are persons who have yet to be found guilty after a fair trial. We know that many a innocent person may finally 'plead guilty' simply to be able to serve a fix sentence and come out fast to go on with life. After all, trials can get delayed and delayed while you wait for the court to find you NOT GUILTY ... Poverty causes great injustice. Maybe, MITRA could have helped these poor by posting BAIL ... When a bread-winner is in detention, it impacts on the well-being of the family and children as well - If out on bail, there will lesser impact to income generation for the family. Maybe, MITRA could have helped families whose 'fathers' are in detention...

 

 The 2nd way MITRA wrongly spends monies ...

 

Ramanan said a sum of RM10.89 million has been allocated to reduce the number of B40 Indian children who are left behind in early education.The Early Education Subsidy programme for Tamil private kindergartens registered with the education ministry, is targeted to assist some 4,500 recipients. “The monthly subsidy of RM200 per child will be paid directly to kindergarten operators to cover fees and breakfast,”

What is wrong here? 

1 - The monies are just for kids who go to  Tamil private kindergartens, not any kindergarten - WHY? First, there are no private TAMIL kindergartens in most towns in Malaysia. Second, why is Ramanan and MITRA 'forcing' people to send their kids to TAMIL kindergartens - not Malaysian kindergartens or multi-racial multi-ethnic kindergartens ...Is this PH-led government also wanting to keep Malaysians divided racially, just like the BN? Does MITRA know that many a Indian Malaysians do not even send their kids to Tamil Schools - but choose Chinese Schools or National Schools as they consider the education levels. Did Ramanan or '...Senator Sivarraajh Chandran (MIC), Klang MP V Ganabatirau (DAP), Segamat MP R Yuneswaran (PKR)' go to Tamil Kindergartens or even Tamil Schools - and why was that? Would you not all people to get a better education like you...rather than ...?

2. The monies go to the kindergarten operators - not the kids or the parents. As we know, many poor people still cannot send their kids to kindergarten or any early education program. Does Ramanan think that these 'TAMIL kindergarten operators' will go find them poor deserving kids that now cannot afford to go to kindergarten and get them into kindergartens? MITRA is foolish to think that the RM200 to cover fees and food is sufficient - the 'bigger problem', my friend is transportation - and with the almost non-existent public bus services in most towns, the option available is by taxi and Grab > so how do we even send the kids to them kindergartens. [MITRA would have done better in investing in SCHOOL BUSSES especially for smaller towns and rural areas, that will transport poorer kids  for FREE to school or kindergartens...]   Again the application form is in TAMIL>>>>

 

RM8.64 million will help fund its dialysis aid subsidy programme for 900 chronic kidney disease patients to cover the cost of one session per week for a year. RM200 for each successful applicant...

 

Why, is the Malaysian government discriminating against Indian Malaysians - do they not 'support' dialysis programs for all irrespective of ethnicity or religion? So, why is MITRA wasting money for things that will be taken care by government, Health Ministry or others ...  Again the application form is in TAMIL...

Mitra financial grant - What exactly is this? Loans? What happened to them earlier grants - How many persons did MITRA help become independent from poverty?

 

Biggest worry is that MONIES received are 'wasted' - not really dealing with the issue of poverty - i.e. helping people escape poverty. 

Is Anwar Ibrahim and the PH-led government promoting and sustaining racial discrimination in Malaysia. The idea of ethnic based programs to deal with poverty MUST END. The problems of the Malaysian people must be dealt by the government through its respective Ministries, Departments ...who deal with all Malaysians irrespective of ethnicity or religion - unless PH too wants to prolong ethic-based 'divide and rule' policies first introduced by the British colonial government, and thereafter sustained by the UMNO-led coalitions of Alliance(Perikatan) and later the BN...

Is PH no different from the BN? There is MITRA now, is there similar vehicles for the Chinese Malaysians, the Kadazan Malaysians, the Kenyah Malaysians, etc..? 

Let us not use MITRA and such for 'political purposes' to garner support from ethnic groups in Malaysia...

Mitra allocates RM39mil for B40 Indians this year

The funds are to aid university students, pre-school children and dialysis patients, says its chairman R Ramanan.

FMT Reporters - 06 May 2023, 9:24am

R Ramanan said Mitra will monitor the finances of all financial grant recipients to ensure that the funds are used for their intended purposes.

PETALING JAYA: A total of RM39.53 million has been allocated to help B40 Indians this year, the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) has announced.

Mitra special taskforce committee chairman R Ramanan said about half the allocation will help assist 10,000 second to fourth year students in public universities with their tuition fees, Bernama reported.

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“The one-off RM2,000 aid subsidy will be deposited into the Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) account of those who qualify, before the start of the new semester in September or October,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

He added that students can submit their applications online – via the Mitra website – starting from Monday until Sept 15.

Ramanan said a sum of RM10.89 million has been allocated to reduce the number of B40 Indian children who are left behind in early education.

The Early Education Subsidy programme for Tamil private kindergartens registered with the education ministry, is targeted to assist some 4,500 recipients.

“The monthly subsidy of RM200 per child will be paid directly to kindergarten operators to cover fees and breakfast,” he was quoted as saying. He added that the closing date for online applications is May 28.

Ramanan said the remaining RM8.64 million will help fund its dialysis aid subsidy programme for 900 chronic kidney disease patients to cover the cost of one session per week for a year.

“Those who qualify will receive RM200 in subsidies,” he said. Applications for the dialysis aid can be made online from May 8 until Aug 30.

Meanwhile, Ramanan said that the committee would also monitor the finances of all Mitra financial grant recipients to ensure that they make good use of the funds for their intended purposes, which has now been expanded to 10 fields.

“All recipients must sign a declaration to implement whatever they need to do using the funds received. If they do not use the money for that purpose, they have to return the money,” he added.

Ramanan said that Mitra has so far received 1,227 applications for financial grants since the programme was launched on April 29. The closing date for applications is on May 28.

“We are very transparent and the names of all financial grant recipients will be displayed on our official website,” he said.

He added that officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the integrity department are now involved in every Mitra meeting to ensure the unit was not linked to any embezzlement issues.

This follows multiple cases of alleged misappropriation of Mitra funds between 2019 and 2021 involving companies, associations and NGOs.

In October 2021, MACC arrested 18 people from 10 companies and NGOs while in January 2022, the agency arrested another 22 individuals in seven states. - FMT, 6/5/2023