YOURSAY | Give B40 varsity students laptops instead of tablets

YOURSAY | ‘Govt can't get decent tablet, what more laptop.’

Questions emerge over quality of tablets for B40 varsity students

PurpleJaguar0553: With an allocation of RM450 million, that would mean an average of RM750 per person. This is based on the distribution for 600,000 students.

For this meagre amount you can't get a decent tablet, what more a laptop. Even a full Microsoft licence costs about RM1,000.

If the government is sincere about uplifting the B40 and they should be, a more decent amount would be about RM3,000 per person. Their lack of access to technology has put them back many years and exacerbated by Covid-19.

Why can’t the needs of the B40 be holistically managed by the government? Is it so difficult? RM1 billion is being given (as special aid) to civil servants for Raya, many of whom did not have to work during the pandemic.

They even got increments and a bonus when the economy was down. Surely this money could go to help the B40.

The government should stop fishing for votes and doing deals that only line the pocket of the rich, and instead make serious and sincere efforts to help the B40.

It's incredulous that our ministers do not seem to know the suffering of the people, especially when this was laid bare during the pandemic and floods.

It was initiatives from the private sector, civil society groups and the white flag movement that set out to help the people. The government was not there then and it seems they are not here now.

There is an alarming gulf between what the ministers know about the public and their decision making. They seem to have no empathy at all.

The biggest culprits, of course, are Malaysians as a majority continue to vote for these incompetent and care-less leaders.

Average Joe: Has the ministry conducted studies of students' needs and user-testing of the tablets?

As an academic, I have a tablet to read news and surf the internet for leisure. I will never do serious academic work on the tablet.

Firstly, the screen is very small and the memory capacity is too low for serious work.

Headhunter: Indeed, tablets have limited use. They are not recommended especially for higher-level students. Is this another scam in the making?

Negotiate directly with manufacturers for the laptops and don’t confine to just one supplier.

Don’t try to fool the public because there are many tech-savvy Malaysians who are experts in the field. They know the specifications and the price of computers.

GreenGiraffe9044: You have got to be kidding me… tablets for university students? Tablets for online classes are only suitable up to the primary level. Beyond that, a laptop is the way to go.

If you really intend to help, please help wholeheartedly, otherwise don’t waste taxpayers’ money.

OCT: This will be another money wasted project. The successful company will be laughing all the way to the bank. The minister doesn't know what apps will be used by students. Without knowing the needs, it will be a failure.

Also, there is no one-size-fits-all in tablets. The arts and science students' needs are very different.

There should be a stress test on the tablets to ensure that it meets the requirements. If the tablet is not fully tested with the right apps, the rakyat can expect the tablets to be useless.

Many years back (around 2000), there was a company that was tasked to supply computers (made in Malaysia) for the students.

It was a failure as the computers couldn't perform as needed. There was a hue and cry. It was a clear case of wrongdoing. In the end, nobody was charged and the incident was forgotten.

This will be a repeat of that failure if the tablets are not properly tested. Sad to say, it is all about making/milking money. Students’ needs are secondary. After all, no ministers have been charged for not doing their duty.

Way To Go: The parameters of users' needs must be evaluated before a compatible brand of tablet or PC (personal computer) is identified. Only then can an open tender be invited and terms negotiated.

The specification must be the yardstick. The open tender should come in last after the ministry has determined the specification.

Anything less is corruption where millions go into the pockets of the cronies and the undergraduates are saddled with cheap unusable PCs that will not serve their needs.

From the vagueness and hesitation of Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa, we can smell the rat from miles away.

LimeSinga1592: There must be a ruling stating that anything costing more than 10 percent above what can be bought online should be automatically bought online (up to 10 percent is for fixing and service). Or some similar rule so that the public feels their tax is not wasted.

That being said, university students should be given more durable, up-to-date, mid-range level laptops. That too can be determined by a group of IT experts, and the laptops must have at least two years’ warranty.

Sealthedeal: Another Communications Ministry foul-up. How can they possibly manage 5G when they can't even buy decent laptops?

An important question, will the devices be 5G compliant? Or even connect to the internet at all?

Sree Ramanan: The government should provide a credit voucher for the purchase of a laptop.

Procurement of laptops at a high volume likely will see the middlemen taking a big cut, resulting in the students getting substandard products.

If you can credit some of the money into e-wallets, might as well do this. This will also benefit local computer shops and not only politically-linked businesses.

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