PUTRAJAYA – The Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra) will be requesting for its unit to be fully audited as part of ongoing attempts to cleanse its tarnished image.
The decision to write to the National Audit Department was announced today by the unit’s special vehicle committee, following its inaugural meeting chaired by Datuk R. Ramanan.
“Once the audit has been completed, only then will Mitra be able to make the necessary decisions (moving forward),” Ramanan, who is also Sg Buloh MP, told a press conference here today.
“We don’t want to go on a witch hunt. Why would we want to chase after devils (wrongdoers)?
“It would be better for us to focus on the good people who need our assistance. We must think about the poor and struggling citizens,” he said.
He stressed, however, that the unit will not turn a blind eye to ostensible misdeeds involving its funds, stressing that those found to have acted irresponsibly will face the consequences of their actions.
“Of course, we will leave no stone left unturned, but at the same time, we must focus on the future.
“If they are found to be guilty (of misdeeds), then I hope God can save them, (because) the prime minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) and I won’t forgive them.
“Mitra funds are for the poor. I cannot forgive (those involved in misallocations),” he said.
As such, Ramanan said, one of the committee’s first action plans to repair its image in the public eye is to ensure that details of recipients of Mitra funds are displayed on its official website.
“By having the information readily available online, the public will be able to see what is done with our funds and the programmes enacted.
“Before this, people used to question what Mitra does but moving forward, we will be very transparent in sharing our fund recipients and initiatives,” he said.
He added that the meeting earlier agreed that an officer from the Integrity Department and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should be invited to be part of the committee’s upcoming gatherings.
“We are not afraid and we do not intend to steal any money. We are trying to build back public confidence in Mitra.”
Also part of the committee is Ramanan’s fellow PKR lawmaker, Segamat MP R. Yuneswaran, who said that programmes under the unit will be revamped and rebranded to reflect the socioeconomic changes in the nation.
He also said that the unit will be establishing ten key areas to focus its development efforts for the Indian community, including women, youth, and budding entrepreneurs.
Last month, Deputy Law Minister Ramkarpal Singh assured that probes to bring to light perpetrators of corrupt practices in troubled Mitra are far from over.
This came after it was reported that 16 company directors were arrested by MACC for allegedly mishandling Mitra funds.
It is estimated that the group misused tens of millions of ringgit from the unit after originally applying for Mitra grants to organise programmes for the Indian community.
Mitra was first placed under the Prime Minister’s Department during the 2018 Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, but was moved to the National Unity Ministry in April 2020 after the Sheraton Move that toppled the PH government.
The unit was then returned to the Prime Minister’s Department in September last year by then prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. – The Vibes, April 19, 2023
