Ramanan: Mitra committee did what it set out to do this year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) Special Task Force Committee has achieved its target and met all its key objectives set out this year, says its head.

Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk R. Ramanan said the success marked the full utilisation of the funds for the first time since its inception in a transparent, accountable and fruitful manner.

“The Mitra Special Task Force Committee in 2023 had laid out a good and strong framework to handle the agency moving forward for anyone who takes over.

“The upliftment and betterment of the B40 Indian community is paramount, and Mitra must continue its efforts to empower such initiatives through proper education and high-paying job opportunities to create a community of the future,” he said in a statement yesterday, BK reported.

According to Mitra’s report card infographics, the agency had organised 201 events involving more than RM19mil spent for economic and career programmes, over RM5.86mil for social programmes, and over RM4mil for human capital programmes.

Ramanan also said Mitra had successfully cleaned up its image and moved away from past accusations of mismanagement of funds following an official rating of ‘low risk’ from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for this year.

“Mitra was officially notified of the status through a letter signed by the commission’s Agency Integrity Management Division director Datuk Nor Azmi Karim on Nov 22. I would like to thank the commission for its close cooperation and full support of Mitra. The status for this year will certainly have a positive impact on this agency,” he said.

Ramanan said following his appointment as the chairman of the special committee, cleaning the unit’s image and successfully delivering high impact programmes for the betterment of the community was the team’s main mission and focus.

“That was why I was determined to strengthen Mitra’s delivery system, especially in the aspects of integrity and transparency,” he added.

The Sungai Buloh MP also expressed hope that whoever is appointed to lead the agency understands its responsibility towards the Indian community and its empowerment while also expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the trust and confidence given to him and the members of the Task Force Committee.

On Saturday, Anwar said Mitra would be placed back under the National Unity Ministry, from the Prime Minister’s Department.