During his winding-up speech on the King’s address in the Dewan Rakyat today, RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) asked the deputy minister if he could share how many of the 150,000 laptops had been distributed.

In response, Yamani said over 111,000 laptops had been distributed so far while the others were still being given to students through Tabung Cerdik.

Teo Nie Ching (PH-Kulai) then asked him why the distribution process was taking so long, saying the announcement had been made in November last year.

“Whose problem is this? Is it the finance ministry or education ministry? Some students are suffering with no laptops, preventing them from keeping up with online classes,” she said, adding that some schools were set to reopen gradually from October.

Rayer had also asked for specific details on the distribution of laptops in Penang, asking how many students had received the devices.

Yamani responded, saying: “It would be better if you asked the education ministry on the details, not the finance ministry.

“This is under the education ministry. So, the education minister will be the right minister to answer (the question),” he said.

While Yamani told the Dewan Rakyat that more than 111,000 laptops had already been distributed, finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz had previously said that 130,000 of the 150,000 free devices announced in the budget last year had been distributed to B40 students.

Tengku Zafrul said Tabung Cerdik was on track to complete its target of distributing all the laptops by the end of this month.