MIC: Govt committed to empowering Indians
KUALA LUMPUR: The 2018 Budget shows the government’s commitment to empower the Indian community’s future in education, employment and wealth.
MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the budget, tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Friday, paved the way to fulfil the Malaysian Indian Blueprint launched recently.
“All the measures taken by the prime minister show that he cares for the Indian community.
“Therefore, funding allocated in the 2018 Budget will be used solely for the implementation of programmes and initiatives that would deliver the targets under MIB,” he said here yesterday.
In the budget, Najib announced a special funding of RM500 million in the next five years as a zerointerest loan to allow 100,000 Indian bottom 40 per cent households to subscribe to a maximum of 5,000 units of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia as an investment.
“This is a major step towards achieving the MIB target to ensure that at least 50 per cent of registered poor households can have increased savings within five years of the blueprint’s implementation,” Dr Subramaniam said.
The budget also allocated RM50 million to Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga to help more than 35,000 entrepreneurs.
“MIB has targeted the Indian B40 group to be plugged into efforts in line with the government’s aim of doubling monthly income of B40 households by 2020,” he said.
The government also injected an additional RM50 million into the Indian community’s socioeconomic development programme.
“The fund will be used for capacity-building efforts, skills training, youth development, economic uplifting of women and single mothers, as well as turning temples into community transformation centres, and more,” he said.
In tabling the budget, Najib reiterated that intakes of Indians into public higher learning institutions and the public service would be increased to a targeted seven per cent, which Dr Subramaniam said would meet the target earmarked in MIB.
“What we need to do now is to implement, monitor and evaluate all the deliverables set forth in MIB and follow through the progress of the Indian community.”