ADUN SPEAKS | Mitra needs bigger budget allocation

ADUN SPEAKS | I welcome the appointment of PKR’s Sungai Buloh MP R Ramanan as Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) special committee chairperson.

Apart from Ramanan’s (above) appointment, the other members of the newly established committee are V Ganabithrau, C Sivarraajh, R Yuneswaran, and Mitra director-general K Ravindran Nair.

Under the BN government of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, Mitra was known as the Socio-economic Development Indian Unit (Sedic).

The government used to channel a certain amount of funds for the socio-economic development of the Indian community especially those in the lower socio-economic categories.

Despite the noble intentions of Mitra, funds were siphoned off for activities that had nothing to do with the welfare and well-being of the Indian communities.

So much so, due to public outcry, some of the organisations that were beneficiaries were subject to MACC investigation. I understand that a few individuals have been charged in court for misappropriating Mitra funds.

I agree that there is a need for new leadership that will infuse much energy into Mitra in terms of its service to the Indian public notably the poor and the unfortunate.

Good intentions alone are insufficient to address the socio-economic woes of the Indians, a community that has contributed so much to the development of this country but has got so little over the years.

It is too well known that funds allocated for the benefit of the Indians never reached the target group. Instead, certain unscrupulous leaders hijacked the funds for the benefit of their cronies and families. Some organisations that had no interest whatsoever in the well-being of the community also did the same.

It is not that governments in the past were extremely generous to the Indian community. The allocation of RM100 million can be considered a pittance to the larger needs of the Indian community.

The provision of funds to Mitra gives the impression that this was the only allocation for the community. So much so, Indian organisations and individuals stood in a beeline to get hold of the funds.

Unfortunately, by solely focusing their attention on the Mitra funds, they forget about other government ministries and departments that had allocations for the poor including the Indians.

Top up minuscule funds

Both the governments and leaders of the Indian community must be blamed for not addressing the issue of funding from a broader perspective.

While the government can give or increase the funding for Mitra, the fact remains that the present funding is minuscule and insufficient.

It is no use appointing new leaders if their hands are very much tied to the availability of insufficient or inadequate funds.

Here I am asking the new government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to provide substantial funding for the Indians through the reformed agency of Mitra and others.

More than this, I would like to appeal to the unity government to allocate additional funds for the benefit of the Indian community through other agencies.

The new Mitra leadership must take stock of the past, the wrongs that were committed and how funds were siphoned off for activities that had nothing to do with the welfare of the community.

The wrongs of the past must not be repeated in nefarious and diabolical ways. What the Indian community needs is good, effective and sound leadership.

I hope Ramanan has the presence of mind and experience to provide a fresh perspective for the development of Mitra.

It is not going to be an easy job at the helm of Mitra. There is no need to reinvent the wheel of yesteryears.

P RAMASAMY is the Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.