KUALA LUMPUR – A students’ group has questioned the government’s ability to deliver 600,000 tablets to B40 university students as promised under Budget 2022, seeing that it has failed to do the same for mere 150,000 laptops this year.
In a statement today, the University of Malaya Students’ Union (UMSU) said based on the current delivery performance, execution remains the biggest worry concerning this initiative.
“According to news reports, as of September 18, only 111,040 laptops (marked under Budget 2021) have been distributed. To date, we remain sceptical of such numbers and question whether the remaining laptops have been successfully distributed.
“Nevertheless, such slow and inefficient distribution has truly brought great inconvenience, if not trouble, to these students.
“How confident are the relevant ministries in delivering the 600,000 promised tablets in a prompt manner, especially when the number of devices has increased fourfold?”
UMSU also expressed concern over the RM750 cost per tablet allocated by the government in Budget 2022, highlighting that it is 25% less than the budget per device allocated for this year.
“It would be best if the government managed to secure good devices at a lower rate, but it must be strongly reminded that if an incompetent device is to be given, there might as well be no device given at all.”
In his Budget 2022 tabling last Friday, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz announced that 600,000 eligible university students will receive free tablets next year, with RM450 million allocated for the “PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia” programme, in collaboration with telecommunications companies.
Last year, in announcing Budget 2021, Tengku Zafrul said RM150 million would be spent to provide 150,000 laptops for poor students nationwide by September.
However, as of October 9, Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said only 137,987 devices have been distributed to the students.
On a separate issue, UMSU said Budget 2022 makes a mockery out of the government’s Keluarga Malaysia slogan with inequitable allocation of funds among the major races that is inconsistent with the racial population size.
Additionally, the group expressed its bewilderment over the RM1.3 billion special financial aid for civil servants and government retirees, whose income, it said, is not affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With all due respect, UMSU believes that such a sum, or at least a portion of this sum, would be better utilised in other areas, such as to fund further infrastructure development to attract more foreign direct investments.
“This does not only benefit graduates with more high-value job opportunities, but also the country as a whole with better facilities and a stronger economy.” – The Vibes, November 4, 2021
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