COMMUNICATIONS and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa said 60% of the nearly 100,000 applications received for the first phase of the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia programme was approved through initial screening and the devices will be distributed this month. 

He said the ministry is trying to complete the Phase 1 roll-out by this month, before starting on Phase 2 next month, with completion scheduled for November.

“Four hundred thousand units will be distributed this year, and if we need more than that, the government will have to decide on additional allocation and procurement. But let us settle with what we have now. 

“We hope to complete distribution under Phases 1 and 2 in 90 days, and this will involve the cooperation of several parties in order to cut the red tape and expedite the roll-out so students can have the devices as soon as possible,” he told reporters in Kota Kinabalu today. 

He said this after a ceremony to hand over devices to 493 students of Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic in Sepanggar, which was also attended by Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Yakub Khan. 

Annuar said the roll-out must be expedited and a distribution schedule has been prepared to coordinate with suppliers, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, due to the logistics challenges in the interior areas. 

On September 3, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob launched the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia initiative to provide tablets to B40 students in need. 

A Samsung model was chosen for the programme after the company won the tender to supply the devices for the Sabah and Sarawak, northern, central, eastern and southern zones. 

Annuar said the remaining 40% of the applications under Phase 1, including appeal cases, are being reviewed to ensure only those eligible receive the devices. 

He said for the appeal screening process, school administrators and Student Representative Councils (SRCs) at educational institutions have been entrusted to vet the appeals before the ministry approves the application.

“Should the SRCs and administrators come across students who are eligible but their application was rejected due to various reasons, we will give leeway. Our aim is to give aid to as many eligible students as possible.

“Many have applied but if they don’t qualify we are not able to give it to them because we have been entrusted to help the B40 families with a household income of RM5,000 and below,“ he said. – Bernama, September 11, 2022.