Will Amanah Saham Be Reintroduced For Indians

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Tapah MP M Saravanan recently raised a pivotal question in Parliament to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, asking whether the government intends to reintroduce targeted initiatives such as the Amanah Saham Scheme to benefit the Indian Malaysian community.
In response, the prime minister reaffirmed that the Madani government remains committed to inclusivity, emphasising that Indian Malaysians have never been sidelined. 
It is important to acknowledge that while the Malays form the majority of those living in poverty, the poorest of the poor are often ethnic Indians, who remain among the most economically marginalised. 
Such a scheme would help foster a culture of savings and investment among Indian Malaysians, while increasing their equity participation in the national economy.
ADSA targeted share ownership program would directly address this disparity.
Anwar highlighted a range of socio-economic measures already in place to uplift the community, including:
RM93 million in early education subsidies.
RM17.63 million in higher education aid for B40 Indian students.
RM2.99 million in laptop assistance for Tamil schools with 6,000 laptops distributed in phases.
RM20 million allocated to support 200 Hindu temples nationwide.
A one-off RM10 million allocation for minor repairs and maintenance of estate workers’ residences
The prime minister also announced that the government will adopt a more coordinated approach, aligning Malaysian Indian Transformation Unity (Mitra) funds with other ministries to ensure more effective and impactful delivery.
Take a page from Najib
Despite these commendable efforts, the community continues to advocate for the revival of the Amanah Saham initiative, which has proven to be a powerful tool for economic empowerment and financial inclusion.
In 2018, then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak introduced a landmark initiative through Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS1M).
A total of 1.5 billion AS1M units were made available exclusively for the Indian community, and B40 Indian households were offered loans of up to RM30,000 to purchase these shares.
ADSThis model demonstrated a clear pathway toward financial empowerment. 
Reviving a similar scheme today would be a meaningful step forward in strengthening the community’s stake in national development and improving long-term financial security. - Mkini
M VIVEKANANTHAN is the Tapah MP’s private secretary.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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