PUTRAJAYA: The National Unity Ministry proposes establishing the National Council for Indian Community Affairs as part of the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit's (Mitra) Action Plan Roadmap.

Deputy Minister K. Saraswathy, said the council, to be chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, would play a crucial role in deciding Mitra's policies and allocations.

She said Mitra must take a holistic approach to ensure that its programmes were in line with the agency's new direction.

Saraswathy said the action plan also proposed creating a Mitra trust account to consolidate unused allocations for the current year.

The proposals aim to restructure Mitra for better service delivery and socio-economic development of the B40 Indian community.

"I want to clarify that Mitra has been under the supervision of the Prime Minister's Department since April. However, this action plan was prepared by the National Unity Ministry because Mitra was under this ministry from January to March this year.

"During that period, the ministry developed this action plan to ensure that every assistance provided would benefit the B40 Indian community," she said at a press conference here today.

She said the action plan was submitted to the prime minister on July 17 and that he provided positive feedback.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/1084540/national-council-will-improve-mitra-policies-b40-indian-community-says