Anwar says 13th Malaysia Plan must tackle economic gaps, fiscal limits

Free Malaysia Today

16 hours ago

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim chairing the high-level discussion on the 13th Malaysia Plan's preparation with senior government officials today. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) must serve as a starting point for tackling the country's economic challenges.
Anwar said these challenges include development and income disparities, limited fiscal space, and the slow pace of structural economic transformation.
'Malaysia must build greater resilience to face global economic risks and uncertainties, while accelerating structural reforms and narrowing socio-economic development gaps,' he said in a Facebook post.
Earlier, Anwar chaired a high-level discussion on the 13MP's preparation with senior government officials.
He said the preparation of the document, which began in mid-2024, is the result of a collaborative effort and comprehensive feedback on proposed strategies and initiatives from a wide range of stakeholders.
These stakeholders include various ministries, state governments, local authorities, civil society organisations and the general public.
Last month, a business group expressed concern about the 13MP following the resignation of economy minister Rafizi Ramli.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (Samenta) warned that the country risked missing out on yet another economic cycle (2026–2030) if key reforms outlined in the plan were not retained and fully implemented.
Rafizi resigned as the economy minister on May 28 following his defeat to Nurul Izzah Anwar in the race for the PKR deputy president's post.
The Pandan MP said his final responsibility as economy minister was to complete the 13MP, which will be tabled in Parliament in the upcoming meeting from July 21 to Aug 28.