A media report yesterday claimed that Mitra was facing a leadership crisis as Ramanan, who was previously appointed as the chairman of a special task force that oversees Mitra, had said he was instructed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to helm the agency.
Ramanan today clarified that Anwar had only entrusted him to coordinate various agencies and initiatives for the Indian community under the newly formed Indian Community Initiatives Implementation Committee, which he is heading.
The Sungai Buloh MP said Mitra would continue to function as usual, with the committee just complementing the agency’s work.
“Where is the crisis? Who said there’s a crisis?
“Praba just met me. We’re still friends and continue to work together,” he said at the Madani Deepavali Open House 2025 at KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur.
“As the prime minister (Anwar) mentioned, there are many agencies and ministries helping the Indian community. I was only tasked with coordinating them … not to take over or ‘steal’ Mitra’s role.
“Mitra will continue its work and submit reports to the committee.
“After that, we’ll make joint decisions. Praba and I are working closely to ensure all programmes are carried out transparently.”
Ramanan described the alleged leadership crisis in Mitra as “unfounded rumours” spread by certain quarters to stir negative perceptions.
He also advised the media not to fall for false reports circulating on social media about alleged power struggles within Mitra.
“Sometimes people make up stories when they don’t have anything to say. I hope responsible media outlets will not fall into that trap,” he said.
In August, Prabakaran had attributed Mitra’s past failures to a lack of consistent leadership, which he said had disrupted long-term efforts to uplift the Indian community.
The Batu MP told the Dewan Rakyat that over the past decade, Mitra and its predecessor, the Socioeconomic Development of the Indian Community Unit (Sedic), had seen frequent changes in leadership.
“When that happens, the policies in Mitra change, too. One year, there’s a programme. The next year, there’s a new leader and it (the programme) disappears. That’s why there’s no real transformation.
“Mitra failed to make a big impact on the Indian community because there was no continuity,” he said during the debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Also in August, Klang MP V Ganabatirau accused the unity government of failing to deliver aid to the Indian community through Mitra, which he said had suffered from frequent leadership changes, bureaucracy and a lack of long-term planning.