Mitra to allocate RM20 mln to reduce B40 university students' financial burden
PUTRAJAYA - The Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) has allocated RM20 million for its bachelor's degree tuition assistance subsidy programme for B40 Indian students in public universities, Mitra Special Taskforce Committee chairman Datuk Ramanan Ramakrishnan said.
He said that the aid was specially for 10,000 second to fourth year students, and they would receive a one-off RM2,000 subsidy aid before the start of the new semester in September or October.
"The aid subsidy will be deposited into the Bank Simpanan Nasional account of those who qualify,” he said at a media conference today, adding that applications were open from 2 pm this May till Sept 15, through the Mitra website www.mitra.gov.my.
He also announced the Early Education Subsidy programme for Private Kindergartens (Tamil) registered with the Education Ministry, involving an allocation of RM10.89 million to reduce the number of B40 Indian children being left behind in early education, with a target of 4,500 recipients.
He added that each child would receive a monthly subsidy of RM200 for a year to cover fees and breakfast.
"The subsidy will be paid directly to kindergarten operators,” he said, adding that applications can be made at the Mitra website, which was opened on April 17 and will end on May 28.
Ramanan also said RM8.64 million has been allocated under its dialysis aid subsidy programme for 900 chronic kidney disease patients to cover the cost of one session per week for a year.
"Those who qualify will receive RM200 in subsidies,” he said, adding that applications could be made between May 8 till Aug 30 on the Mitra website.
He also shared that the involvement of officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Integrity Department in every Mitra meeting was to ensure the unit was not linked to any embezzlement issues.
"We are very transparent and the names of all financial grant recipients will be displayed on our official website,” he said.
Ramanan said that the committee would also monitor the finances of recipients to ensure that they make good use of the funds for their intended purposes, which has now been expanded to 10 fields.
"All recipients must sign a declaration to implement whatever they need to do using the funds received. If they do not use the money for that purpose, they have to return the money,” he said.
Applications for Mitra financial grants have been extended from April 29 to MAy 28 and till now, 1,227 applications have been received. - BERNAMA
