Eligible students who applied for the PerantiSiswa initiative will be receiving the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 for the duration of their studies, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa.
He also said the eligibility requirements for the initiative will be broadened to include more students.
“The procurement committee has chosen Samsung as the winner of the open tender and it will involve five suppliers for five different zones.
“We are using our previous experience as our guide and that is why we have chosen a brand that is reputable.
“As I announced earlier, (we chose) the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 LTE, which is a model that is in the market,” Annuar (above) said in the Dewan Rakyat during the question-and-answer session today.
He was answering Lukanisman Awang Sauni (GPS-Sibuti) who asked about the latest status of the PerantiSiswa programme and an additional question from Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Semporna) who questioned how this would be different from similar initiatives in the past which failed.
When the PerantiSiswa programme was first announced, concerns were raised about the quality of the tablets that would be distributed to students.
At that time, while the open tender process was still ongoing, Annuar assured that the devices will not be cap ayam (low quality) and that he specifically requested tablets from an established, premium brand.
Annuar said today the Samsung tablets will also come with a two-year warranty and after-sales service, where students can get them fixed or replaced if they get damaged.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, which was marketed as a budget tablet, was released in Malaysia in January 2022 with a retail price of RM999.
Checks on online marketplaces Lazada and Shopee today showed the device being sold for an average of around RM800 to RM900.
The first phase of tablet distribution will start this month for those who have already applied, Annuar said.
Phase Two applications open
He also announced that newly eligible categories of students for the programme can start applying from today until Sept 30 under Phase Two of the initiative.
Among those who are newly eligible include students of foundation programmes in public universities, students from matriculation programmes under the Education Ministry, Form 6 students, and students taking vocational diplomas in vocational colleges.
Phase Two will see the tablets being distributed to the students beginning in October, Annuar added.
Meanwhile, he noted that almost 40 percent of those who applied in the first phase did not pass preliminary screening.
In order to ensure no one was mistakenly rejected, he said there will be an appeal process for those who did not pass the early screening.
The government previously announced the PerantiSiswa programme with an allocation of RM450 million under Budget 2022. - Mkini
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