BN leaders help themselves to free laptops in 1Malaysia program
(Malaysia Chronicle) – A Selangor state assembly backbencher has accused BN grassroots leaders of abusing the 1Malaysia Computer programme by eating into the quota set aside for secondary school students and the needy.
Sekinchan assemblyperson Ng Suee Lim said he has received numerous complaints of favouritism and cronyism in the approval of the free laptops under the programme, launched earlier this year under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Waving a list of names of people who have allegedly received the free laptops, Ng claimed that many on the list include division leaders and of the various BN component parties including Umno, MCA and Gerakan.
“All these names do not fulfil the set criteria,” he said when debating the Selangor state budget 2011.
Ng pointed out that free laptop recipients under the programme need to fulfill four criteria which include household income must be under RM3,000, the family does not have a computer, the family must have children in Forms One to Five, and each family is entitled to only one laptop.
“After going through the list, it turns out that the main condition is that as far as possible it must go to Umno, MCA, Gerakan and BN members.
“I am shocked with the way in which such contributions are distributed, which does not reflect transparency, instead using the programme solely to fulfil the agenda and political interests of Umno and BN,” he said.
