In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim appointed Prabakaran to the role as Ramanan was recently appointed the deputy entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister.

“The prime minister hopes this appointment will ensure that Mitra continues to fulfil its mandate and responsibilities in uplifting the dignity and socioeconomic status of the Indian community,” said the statement.

The appointment is effective immediately.

Ramanan, who was appointed deputy minister in last December’s Cabinet reshuffle, previously said Mitra’s special committee had met all its key objectives set out in 2023 as the department had fully utilised its funds in a transparent, accountable and fruitful manner.

In a Bernama report, he said that cleaning up Mitra’s image and delivering high-impact programmes for the betterment of the community were the team’s main mission and focus.

He also said Mitra had moved on from past accusations of mismanagement of funds following an official “low-risk” rating from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in 2023.

Mitra was investigated by MACC in 2022 over allegations of misappropriation of funds from 2019 to 2021.

It was placed back under the unity ministry last December. The agency, which was rebranded from the Socioeconomic Development of the Indian Community Unit (Sedic) in 2018, was initially under the unity ministry but was transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department in 2022.

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