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KUALA LUMPUR: The allocation of RM100 thousand for the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) under Budget 2021 is not the only source of funding for the Indian community, says National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique.
“I hope the word ‘marginalized’ is not used when it comes to the Indian community.
“The allocation for the Indian community is not 100% under Mitra or my ministry.
“It does not mean that the allocation for the community falls solely on my ministry and that other ministries have no responsibilities,” he said at the end of his ministerial responses in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday. (December 1st).
He said that there were many other schemes and programs in other ministries to help the Indian community.
He pointed out that his ministry had only taken over Mitra in April this year and kept RM65 thousand from the previous budget allocation.
To ensure that the allocation under Mitra is better controlled, Halimah said his ministry formed two committees to monitor how the money is used and spent.
“The approval of donations under Mitra will not be in the hands of the minister or the secretary general of the ministry, but there will be a committee to evaluate the approval requests and another committee to monitor how the donation is used,” he said.
On increasing the allocation for the ministry’s development spending from RM 92.8 million to RM 102.9 million in 2021, Halimah said this was due to continued commitment under Malaysia’s 11th Plan.
He added that the increase was also due to the fact that the Department of Unity, under the Prime Minister’s Department, was placed under the ministry in March.
He also assured lawmakers that there were enough appropriations to ensure the smooth running of 1,781 kindergartens and 41 nurseries under his ministry, which are run by 2,254 hired teachers.
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