Mitra Denies Laptops Distributed To Tamil Schools Unusable

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The Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) has denied claims that none of the refurbished laptops it distributed under a RM3.26 million programme are being used in schools.
ADSResponding to allegations previously issued by Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) deputy president S Subramaniam, Mitra’s special task force committee said their survey found that the programme had an overall positive impact on school administrators and teachers.
The committee’s chairperson P Prabakaran said an effectiveness study was conducted from Aug 22 to Sept 27, 2024, with survey forms distributed to all 520 Tamil vernacular schools involved in the programme.
“A total of 161 schools - 31 percent - responded. Of these, 90 percent said the laptops help students with virtual learning environments (VLE).
“Additionally, the supplier involved has also taken responsibility by addressing complaints raised by schools from time to time,” Prabakaran, who is also PKR’s Batu MP, said in a statement today.
Allegations of wastage
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that Subramaniam challenged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to set up an independent committee to investigate Mitra’s November 2023 refurbished laptop assistance programme.
Claiming the special programme for Tamil schools was a “mystery” and needed to be investigated for wasting an allocation of RM3.26 million, Subramaniam asserted that “not a single school” has used the laptops.
Earlier, Malaysiakini’s check at more than 10 schools in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, and Johor confirmed that the laptops could not be used.
Since its launch two years ago, the programme has faced criticisms after several schools reported that the laptops provided could not be used, with parents and teachers complaining the laptops had to be sent for repairs just weeks after receiving them.
However, Mitra at the time defended the programme.
Based on Mitra’s proposal paper sighted by Malaysiakini, RM3 million was provided for 6,000 refurbished laptops of various brands.
This allocation does not include the RM263,500 shipping cost for 527 Tamil schools nationwide.
The programme was launched under Deputy Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister R Ramanan, who is also the chairperson of the special task force that oversaw Mitra from April 2023 to February 2024. - Mkini

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