KUALA LUMPUR – It has only been a few months since students in institutions of higher learning received student devices, and some have sold them even though they were advised not to.
Some students, in acknowledging the government’s support under the Keluarga Malaysia Student Device Programme to ease the burden of the lower-income B40 group, said that reselling the devices at below market price is unreasonable and irresponsible.
23-year-old Universiti Teknologi Mara student Muhammad Najmuddin Sarani said he was one of the first to apply for the assistance since its inception, and that there was a condition in the application that the device must not be sold.
“It is not acceptable that students are selling them. If the device is sold and bought, the person will know that this device is from the government because you have to enter personal details when you switch on the device,” he said.
He said the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 LTE device is equipped with accessories to help ease the burden of B40 students.
Sharing a similar sentiment, Universiti Utara Malaysia student 21-year-old Nurlisa Mohd Jamil also agreed that selling the device to buy a higher quality one was irresponsible.
“It is not easy to apply for this student device because you have to go through a rigorous vetting process at the university and government level. I have a friend from the M40 group who desperately needs a device and cannot afford it but did not get it,” she said.
She added that the device provided by the government is good and useful for students.
Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Centre for Studies on Learner Diversity senior lecturer Anuar Ahmad said that while there are several reasons for selling the device, such as needing money for university, or that the device was not suitable for the course taken, the move is still inappropriate.
“This does not justify the act because the provision of these devices is the government’s effort to meet the needs of students so that they can learn well. The action is irresponsible,” he said.
Anuar said if the device is not suitable for use with the course, there is no reason to apply for one, and should be given to students who need it more.
Applications for PerantiSiswa were opened in April, and first-phase distribution began in September, while phase 2 of distribution began this month.
On October 25, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said stern action would be taken against individuals selling the devices they received under the PerantiSiswa programme.
So far, 14 cases of selling the tablets have been reported nationwide and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is closely monitoring developments. – Bernama, October 28, 2022
