KUALA LUMPUR – The government has yet to discuss forms of action to be taken against the students who were found to have sold their PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia tablets, including blacklisting them, caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
“So far, we have not discussed the issue with the Higher Education Ministry and the Communications and Multimedia Ministry. They will have to look into this,” he told reporters after opening the Angkasapuri Media City here today.
However, Ismail Sabri called on all students who received the tablets not to sell the device as it is the government’s aspiration to help the students from the B40 households.
“The government is trying to help you. So, don’t go selling the tablets for a short-term profit because the long-term benefit of using the PerantiSiswa tablets for your education and for your future is far more important,” he said.
The PerantiSiswa tablets were given to students from B40 families to enable them to cope in this era of digital education.
At the initial stage of the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia programme, the government said the students need to return the tablets upon graduation but the decision was later changed to allow the students to keep them.
Yesterday, incumbent communications and multimedia minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa confirmed that 14 cases of the tablets’ sale were reported nationwide so far and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is closely monitoring the development.
Meanwhile, Annuar in his speech earlier said the Angkasapuri Media City project was implemented through a public-private partnership using the private financing initiative (PFI) method.
Annuar also expressed his appreciation to previous communications and multimedia ministers who were involved in making the Media City project a success.
“The project officially kicked off in December 2016 and continued throughout the movement control order period. The success of the project will begin a new era in national broadcasting,” he said.
The complex has 18 floors of office space, an auditorium with a capacity of 1,000 people, a music recording studio and a music practice studio, three TV studios, a multi-storey parking space and a plaza as well as an outdoor broadcast vehicle garage. – Bernama October 26, 2022
