Give unity ministry the chance to manage Mitra, says sociologist

Denison Jayasooria said Pemandu officials at the workshop he attended were professional and depoliticised the discussions to focus on the needy B40 group.

PETALING JAYA: A sociologist has urged Malaysian Indians to give the national unity ministry the chance to manage Mitra, the Malaysian Indian transformation unit.

Denison Jayasooria of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said a recent two-day workshop organised by the ministry brought together stakeholders and experts to give feedback to the ministry on Mitra’s direction.

He commended minister Aaron Ago Dagang, deputy minister K Saraswathy and ministry secretary-general Azman Yusof for attending the bulk of the engagement sessions to listen to, and interact with, participants.

“It is worth highlighting that the minister, who is a Sarawakian, made time to listen to all the issues and recommendations made by the four working groups at the workshop. The very presence of the top ministry officials is a clear testament to their commitment to take on the new responsibility entrusted to them,” he said.

He urged the Malaysian Indian community to now give the ministry “a chance to undertake their duties and provide constructive feedback including, if need be, criticism”.

Denison said the ministry needed sufficient time to understand its mandate with Mitra while navigating the political nuances it would involve and objections that may come.

The unity ministry has come under some backlash after taking over the management of Mitra, with three Indian groups calling for Aaron to step down after the minister reportedly said he “did not know the purpose of Mitra”.

Aaron also denied Mitra’s funding was controlled by Pemandu, the performance management and delivery unit in the Prime Minister’s Department. He said Pemandu is simply tasked with conducting workshops and labs to facilitate strategic planning for Mitra and its blueprint.

Denison made a case for Pemandu, saying the unit’s officials at the workshop he attended were professional and did not merely give formal presentations and question-and-answer sessions.

“They depoliticised the discussions to work on the challenges and ways to overcome them. They also kept the focus of the discussion on the B40 segment of Malaysian Indians, calling for a very targeted approach.”

While acknowledging that he wanted Mitra to remain under the Prime Minister’s Department, the academic said having a “very friendly and interested minister” was a good starting point.

He called for the Mitra director-general’s post to be promoted to the Jusa B grade instead of its current grade 54, to recognise the position’s seniority in the civil service, and boost the director-general’s ability to network and liaise with other government agencies. - FMT