Students reminded not to misuse, sell PerantiSiswa tablets - Annuar

He said that students receiving the free gadgets must be responsible and take care of them well.

"I have high hopes that even though these gadgets are given in a one-off basis, every recipient must take good care of them," he said at a media conference after attending the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia launch at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam, which was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today.

The prime minister had earlier announced during the launch that recipients would not have to return their devices when they finish their studies. The government had previously set that the initiative was on a loan basis and that students would need to return their devices upon completing their studies.

Annuar also said that all devices had a warranty of two years, and students could repair or get a new device should there be any damage during the period.

He said his ministry had complete data of device recipients to ensure that those who had received their device could not submit a second application in the future.

"If they obtained a device during Form Six, and then furthered their studies to a university included in this programme, then they will not need to apply again," he said, adding that phase one of the roll-out will be coordinated with all institutes of higher learning in the country, including Sabah and Sarawak, to ensure that all successful applicants would benefit from the programme as soon as possible.

On failed online applications, Annuar said that the ministry would refer to the students' representative councils to obtain confirmation on the applicant's family's income level before approval.

He added that the distribution of devices will be done in stages, although allocation has been provided as it would allow new students who received their university offers in the second half of the year to benefit from the programme and will allow suppliers to be able to fulfil the 400,000 units requested by the government for this year.

He said the government managed to implement several cost saving measures through the open tender system, thus allowing Form Six and matriculation students to also benefit from this programme.

Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad expressed hope that the programme could be expanded to benefit all 1.6 million students in over 600 institutions of higher education throughout the country during her speech at the launch.

She said her ministry would, in the long term, make the need for a device and internet access as part of the focus in the National Higher Education Digitisation Plan.