Why Mitra continues to attract criticisms?

A press conference held by the Opposition in Parliament on Thursday, July 24, called on Mitra chairman Prabakaran to address the various issues raised by the Indian community on the management of the RM100 million fund allocated to the community.

By Hardew Singh

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24: A group of Indian activists have resorted to sending a memorandum to the Opposition in Parliament on Wednesday to express their unhappiness with the way the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra) has been operating and sought their help to highlight their grievances.

“It is the group’s hope that the Opposition may raise questions in Parliament regarding Mitra since the Members of Parliament given the tasks of running Mitra have not responded to our request for a meeting,” said one of the members of the group to Weekly Echo.

What is going on and what could have pushed them to the other side? The Opposition had a press conference today, highlighting the issues raised by the activists.

While it is open to anybody’s guess on how much the Opposition would and be able to do for the group, what is clear is that criticisms levelled on Mitra, which have been going on for a while, have taken on a new level. The grumblings come mostly from groups whose applications have not being met, even at the halfway point.

Their grouses include not getting the kind of assistance being sought based on the funds allocated to the Indian community, which is currently under the trust of Mitra’s management.

“We are not happy with the way the funds allocated for the Indian community in the country are being managed by Mitra,” said one of the activists who alleged that the application process was complicated and inconsistent.

On top of it all, these activists are beginning to have doubts on whether Mitra can play its role of bringing about transformation in the socio-economy of the Malaysian Indian community.

“I sent my application several months ago and I have not had the courtesy of a “dukacita” or “sukacita” reply. I sent all the forms they requested.

“They must at least respond to an application,” one activist said, adding that staff shortage cannot be a reason as there were many people working in Mitra’s office.

Whether it was a case of sour grapes, it is difficult to know. But the list of the disappointed and frustrated help-seekers is growing longer. And their discontent share much commonality – difficulties in the applications, delays and lack of transparency.  

It is already July 2025 and it is claimed that so far no funds from the RM100 million allocated to the community have been disbursed, one activist claimed.

She also asked how was last year’s allocations disbursed and hoped that Mitra can show evidence of how the money was spent.

Other lesser complaints and protestations include: Rude staff, too much of bureaucracy and phone calls are hardly answered.

“They also do not respond to any WhatsApp messages sent to them. They keep mentioning that their stakeholders will not be happy. We are not sure who the stakeholders are and when we ask, they say that it is a confidential matter,” said one applicant who dropped halfway through applying for assistance to run a training programme.

“They kept asking me to redo the application, then they wanted to change part of my training content, and there was so much back and forth and they kept slashing the funds sought. By this time, I decided that the stress that the processes was causing me was not worth it and I decided to seek help elsewhere,” said one frustrated applicant.

Another disgruntled applicant had this to say: “While some programmes they (Mitra) are doing are commendable, like helping young students with education assistance, seminars, kindergarten or the kidney dialysis programmes, there seemed to be limitations on how they want to help the Indian community.

“It is like they decide what the Indians need. They select the kind of aid they want to provide. How many selected seminars and training programmes can you conduct in a year? I don’t think they are listening to what people are saying and they don’t go on the ground to find out what is ailing the community and what kind of help the community really needs. The funds are there but nobody really sees them. They have to be more transparent.”

Another complaint raised was the way funds having to be disbursed through NGOs. “Why do individuals who really need help have to go through an NGO? Sometimes, the NGO takes a cut from the funds disbursed. There needs to be a change in the approach here. It must open help for all, including those who are not from the B40 but who are still struggling financially,” she claimed.

Mitra is not new to criticisms or getting its name in the headlines for the wrong reasons. There have been allegations of abuse and applicants supplying false information to get the Mitra funds.

While several Mitra-linked NGOs have done good with their programmes in the past, allegations of some dubious or dodgy ones have also surfaced.  

Some say allegations on the previous abuse of funds may have pushed up higher levels of scrutiny and led to greater bureaucracy in Mitra.

But one critic said genuine assistance seekers or those wishing to contribute to the socio-economic growth of the Indian community should not have a hard time when dealing with Mitra staff.

Mitra has been through many cycles in its operations from allegations of misappropriation of funds to being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on its funds approval processes, and even facing court cases. It has also had had several changes in its leadership and management team since it was first formed.

When it was placed back under the Prime Minister’s Department in April 2024 from the National Unity Ministry, many Indian organisations welcomed the move.

Prof Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria, a lifelong advocate for social inclusion, human rights, and sustainable development, had cautioned the new team in Mitra that the change would not automatically resolve many of the challenges faced by the agency in addressing the issues and concerns of the Bottom 40 percent of the Indian community.

He had pointed out that building cooperation should be a priority and that it should focus on the major issues of access and participation of the Indian community in programmes run by other government agencies.

They include having adequate places in matriculation and public universities and increased opportunities in Institut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP), Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN), Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM), access to TEKUN micro-business loans, participation in Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) and access to government initiatives for the socio-economic upliftment of Malaysians.

“Second, Mitra must review the policies pertaining to the RM100 million grant disbursement so that the guidelines are clear and the process is transparent with no political interference in the decision-making on who to distribute the funds to. All recipients must meet the criteria.

“In addition, Mitra must establish strong monitoring and impact evaluation procedures so that there is public disclosure of these information to restore public confidence. More disclosure in the website as well as publication of reports, analysis and best practices are of utmost importance.”

Dr Denison also emphasised the importance of the Mitra Chairman, Batu MP Prabakaran’s role in pushing up Mitra’s efforts and urged its special committee and all Indian MPs to be open and cooperate towards  actionable steps.

How much of the community’s needs have been fulfilled and how together the leaders have been in taking the right actions would be for Mitra to answer from now on.

Meanwhile, Deputy National Unity Minister Saraswathy Kandasami, under whose ministry Mitra was parked earlier, responded to a question in 2024 from Weekly Echo, on an update of audit report for Mitra.

She said an audit was being carried out on Mitra but she could not say when it would be out.

Meanwhile, a call made to Mitra’s office today to seek some information was surprisingly answered immediately today. It spells hope…

— WE