STRINGENT measures have been put in place to ensure that grants disbursed to Indian civil societies will not be abused, said P. Waytha Moorthy.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) has overhauled the grants application process.

“We have not only rebranded Mitra but overhauled the procedures that give out the grants.

“We have now implemented strict guidelines and there must be transparency by those who are applying for the grants,” he said at a media briefing in Putrajaya today.

It was recently reported that millions of ringgit in grants given to civil societies to help Indians were abused for personal gain.

National Audit Department checks showed that funds were funnelled to the Socioeconomic Development of the Indian Community (Sedic) unit set up by the former Barisan Nasional government.

The unit’s task was to give out grants and aid to Indian organisations for programmes beneficial to the community.

Wathya Moorthy said many groups have applied for the grants but they don’t know what has been done to elevate the socio economic standing of the community.

He said that to curb abuse, recipient organisations will be listed on the Mitra website.

“This is to show that all the recipients of the grants will be identifiable to the public,” he said. – April 24, 2019.