A government MP has expressed regret over a decision to postpone discussions regarding the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra).
It was postponed because Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim needed to approve it before discussions could be held.
When contacted, Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran (above) confirmed that the discussions, initially scheduled for Monday, had been postponed.
“On behalf of all MPs, I had written a letter to Mitra to discuss important issues related to its funds.
“I then met Mitra director-general Raveendran Nair earlier this week, asking for an official meeting with other MPs. He said I needed to get approval from the chief secretary of the government (Mohd Zuki Ali), which I did.
“However, I was later informed that that was not sufficient and that I needed the prime minister’s approval for the meeting.
“If I had been told earlier about it, I would have approached the prime minister. Now he is busy (with matters) abroad,” he said.
“I regret (because) this discussion session is important, and in high demand from those who need help.
“It is also important for Mitra to clarify the allegations of misuse of funds made against it in the past,” added the former human resources minister.
Malaysiakini is attempting to contact Raveendran for comment.
Mitra, launched in 2013 by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, was initially known as Socio-Economic Development of the Indian Community Unit (Sedic).
It was established to help poor Indians uplift their income capacity.
Sedic was disbanded when the BN government fell after the 14th general election and was later revived as Mitra under the Pakatan Harapan administration.
After the Harapan government fell, Mitra was placed under the National Unity Ministry.
The Mitra fund issue came under the spotlight recently following the arrest of several companies’ directors, who were suspected of embezzling funds allocated by the agency.
A total of 337 companies, organisations and NGOs were identified as having received grants of an approximate total of RM203 million from Mitra between 2019 and 2021.
Anwar had promised in September last year that if Harapan were to return to power following the 15th general election (GE15), it would conduct forensic audits on investment companies such Maika Holdings Bhd, MIC’s educational arm Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) and Mitra.
It was also promised in Harapan’s GE15 manifesto that a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) would be established to investigate all MIC-related institutions.
‘Many lawmakers upset’
Meanwhile, Kulasegaran claimed that other MPs that were planning to attend the meeting were also upset.
“I urge Mitra to hold a meeting with MPs immediately. I will also meet the prime minister to discuss this matter with him.
“Mitra needs to shift from providing grants to providing lifelong assistance,” he said.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, had allocated RM100 million to uplift the Indian community in this year’s national budget. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.