Netizens slam sale of tablets given under govt’s B40 initiative

 

Screenshot of an online listing offering a tablet, meant for B40 university students, for sale.

PETALING JAYA: Social media users are upset over the sale of tablets meant for B40 university students on online marketplace platforms.

The outrage follows the circulation of several screenshots of the tablets being sold at prices between RM800 and RM1,100.

The tablets are provided under a government initiative to benefit 400,000 university students from low-income families.

One netizen @iHX_Kimilol, who posted a screenshot of the tablet being listed on Carousell, said: “Got it free from the government. Then selling it to buy an iPad. If (you’re) not using (it), (it’s) better to give it to those who need it.”

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In the screenshot, the seller wrote in the description that the tablet was being sold so that they could “upgrade” to an iPad to help with their studies.

Twitter user @AishaaaLee expressed her frustration, saying: “My younger sibling applied (but) didn’t get it because (she was) not eligible. Those who got it are simply selling it.”

Meanwhile, a user going by the handle @CheUthman asked why the students selling the tablets had applied for them when they knew that these were limited in quantity.

“This is an example of a lack of integrity and responsibility, friends,” he said.

Another Twitter user @HelloFoxxyMeow said those who sold their devices had no sense of shame and were “misusing” government resources that could have gone to those in need.

Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman took to Twitter after coming across a listing of the tablet on Carousell.

He urged those who received the tablets not to sell them because there were still many other students who needed them.

“One-third of students in Malaysia don’t have gadgets. In Sabah and Sarawak, it is half of them. (You) can return it so that others who need it more can have it,” he said in a tweet.

Under the Peranti Siswa initiative, students from low-income families are eligible for a Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 LTE tablet.

In September, communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa had urged recipients not to sell the devices. - FMT