Mitra special committee chairman wants to transform lives of B40 Indians

KUALA LUMPUR: Newly-minted Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) Special Committee chairman Datuk R. Ramanan has big plans for the agency.

And these will start with going back to the original goals of its establishment.

Although the word 'transformation' is part of Mitra's name, Ramanan said it has yet to fully serve its purpose to bring transformation to its target group.

He said Mitra will no longer solely focus on providing financial assistance to Indians in Malaysia, but will turn its attention to uplift the group to be self-sustainable in the long run.

"If we continue to provide only aid, then when will the Indian community grow?

"We cannot continuously be 'giving them fish'. If we can teach them to fish, then they can fish for themselves and are no more dependent on us. This is the direction of Mitra under my tenure," he said in reference to the oft-quoted saying about self-sufficiency.

Ramanan was speaking during a special interview session with the New Straits Times Press at Balai Berita here yesterday (July 3).

While citing certain programmes by Mitra, he hoped the initiatives would soon bear fruit.

He said there are special courses being offered to about 500 B40 Indians through three programmes in partnership with private entities.

Two of these programmes are related to electric vehicles (EV) and also drones for a one and-a-half month course.

The third programme is with a prominent company in the aviation industry, The Weststar Group, to train 100 individuals for one and-a-half years.

"Participants who complete these courses will secure a job with a salary upwards of RM3,000.

"These programmes will not just benefit 500 individuals, but 500 families. Sooner or later, these families can be lifted out of the B40 category," he added.

However, he stressed that Mitra will not cease from providing financial support wherever needed.

For instance, he said Mitra allocated a sum of RM20 million to subsidise public university semester fees, which will benefit 10,000 students from the B40 Indian community. There are also plans to expand the initiative for students in private higher learning institutions.

Close to RM9 million was also allocated for the Dialysis Assistance Programme to help 900 B40 Indians suffering from chronic kidney problems.

He said RM100,000 has been allocated to 72 members of parliaments to assist B40 Indians in 32 districts around the country.

"We want to transform and uplift them. Of course financial assistance will be given, but maybe the ratio will be reduced to cater more for the transformation initiatives," he added.