KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — The 20,000 smartphones the Perak government gave to students in the state were poorly equipped devices unsuitable for online learning, the local chapter of Amanah Youth said today.

Commenting on reports of the smartphones Perak Education, Higher Education and Human Resources Committee chairman Ahmad Saidi Mohammad Daud announced for the Tuisyen Cikgu Saarani (TCS) programme, Mohd Ikhmal Mohd Iskandar said the devices were only usable for the most basic of applications.

"It is pointless to say we are emulating developed nations in providing new education norms to the country’s next generations when our leaders are stuck in outdated mindsets.

"It is unfortunate that the world is moving into 5G technology but the thinking of our leaders is still in the era of the Nokia 3310,” the Perak Amanah Youth communications director said, referring to the iconic mobile phone launched in 2000.

Pressing the state government to at least provide students with moderately specified devices, Mohd Ikhmal also demanded that the state government disclose how much it paid for the smartphones already distributed.

The Amanah Youth leader urged the state government to realise that smart devices were no longer a luxury in the current era, but were essential to all and especially for students who were limited to home-based learning.

Yesterday, Ahmad Saidi announced the distribution of the 20,000 smartphones and purported that they were intentionally low specification devices to prevent students from using these for gaming.

The SoyaCincau technology news site deduced that the smartphones were basic devices with a MediaTek 1.3GHz processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB of storage.