Mitra laptops from Google, not second-hand units, says Ramanan

New Straits Times

4 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri R Ramanan has defended the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra)'s move to provide second-hand laptops to more than 6,000 students.
Speaking at a press conference, the Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister said that, based on reviews, the programme had delivered positive results.
He was responding to allegations raised by Ganabatirau Veraman (PH-Klang) regarding unusable second-hand laptops being distributed to Indian students.
"Overall, a review of the programme's impact found that it had delivered positive results, according to feedback from school administrators and teachers.
"In addition, the supplier has taken responsibility for resolving all complaints submitted by schools from time to time.
"So, I don't understand why some people are making such claims. These are irresponsible parties.
"These laptops were not supplied by Ah Chong, Amir, Raju, Muniandi, or Ahmad. They were supplied by Google. Isn't Google big enough for them? All of these computers came with a warranty," he said.
He explained that distributing brand-new laptops would require a substantial amount of funds.
"This is Mitra, not a ministry. We have to be prudent.
"We have already distributed laptops to 520 SJKT schools, amounting to 6,000 computers. These were provided under Google's CSR programme.
"If we had purchased brand-new laptops, it would have required a huge budget, so how would we fund other programmes?" he said.
Ramanan added that although there had been some minor issues, they were immediately rectified.
"I don't understand the purpose of these accusations. If you want political mileage, don't use our community for it. Find something else," he said.