Third Week Of Dewan Rakyat Session Dominated By Debate On RMK13
By Mohd Fharkhan Abdul Ghapar
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- The third week of the Dewan Rakyat session has been dominated by debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) as government and opposition Members of Parliament discussed various aspects of national policy, implementation, and the country's development direction for the next five years.
The debate was focused on the three main pillars of the RMK13: economic growth, public welfare, and effective governance. Cross-sectoral issues are also being addressed, including regional development, renewable energy, climate change, youth mobility, education, cybersecurity, and the inclusion of Sabah and Sarawak in the national development framework.
As of yesterday, 78 MPs have participated in the debate, including Government Backbenchers Club Chairman Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar), Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut), and Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (PH-Gombak).
Among the topics raised by the MPs are a flexible, choice-based approach to the proposed monthly pension payments through the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the drafting of a special act for preschool education, and a comprehensive and structured national creative economy or "orange economy" policy to drive growth in the sector.
On July 31, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim presented the 13MP, themed "Reshaping Development." The government will need to provide an investment of RM611 billion to drive national development from 2026 to 2030.
According to the Dewan Rakyat calendar, the RMK13 debate will last for eight days, from Aug 4 to 14, followed by a four-day winding-up session by ministers from Aug 18 to 21.
Another key focus of this week's Dewan Rakyat session was the briefing by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz regarding reciprocal trade negotiations with the United States. This followed a new tariff rate for Malaysia of 19 percent, effective Aug 1, which is a six percent reduction from the rate announced by the US on July 7.
Tengku Zafrul emphasised that Malaysia did not sacrifice national interests to get preferential treatment. Instead, the negotiations with the US maintained the uniqueness of national policies, and Malaysia did not agree to all of the US' requests concerning digital trade and technology. However, he noted that Malaysia must remain prepared for the possibility of additional tariffs being imposed by the US on the semiconductor industry.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
RM8.4mil to provide Jalur Gemilang badges for 5mil students
Education minister Fadhlina Sidek said getting students to wear the Jalur Gemilang badge on their uniforms is one of the ministry's initiatives to instil patriotism and love for the country from an early age. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : A total of RM8.4 million was allocated to procure Jalur Gemilang badges for 5.14 million students, including those in schools, matriculation colleges, Form Six colleges, and teacher training institutions. In a written parliamentary reply, education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the funds were disbursed to state education departments and educational institutions in February based on student enrolment numbers. A total of 91 suppliers were involved in supplying the badges, with each student receiving two Jalur Gemilang badges free of charge. Fadhlina said the procurement process was managed by the state education departments, district education offices, and institutions through the ePerolehan system, either by tender or quotation, depending on the amount of allocation received. She said the state education departments were also granted the flexibility to procure the badges by zones to expedite the supply process and to encourage participation from a larger pool of qualified suppliers. Fadhlina said parents are allowed to provide additional badges of the same size and suitable material if desired. 'Wearing the Jalur Gemilang badge on students' uniforms is one of the ministry's initiatives to instil patriotism and love for the country among students from an early age,' she said. She was responding to a question by Latiff Rahman (PN-Kuala Krai) about the total cost incurred by the government in supplying Jalur Gemilang badges to all students under the ministry's institutions and which company supplied them. Public school students started wearing the Jalur Gemilang badge on their school uniforms in March. However, the education ministry said no disciplinary action will be taken against those who fail to do so.
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Five 13MP pillars to watch
PETALING JAYA: As Malaysia aims to become a high-income, value-creating economy under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), five key trends are expected to shape the country's economic trajectory from 2026 to 2030, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB). The five areas to watch, the research house said, are: a sustained investment upcycle; improvements in workers' and household incomes; fiscal consolidation and structural reforms; a push for productivity and innovation; and legislative reforms to strengthen governance. These trends are seen as critical to achieving the 13MP's targeted gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.5% to 5% annually, slightly below the 5.1% average recorded under the 12MP. The plan also underscores the importance of continued reforms and economic restructuring to drive inclusive and sustainable growth. 'Our investment upcycle thesis remains a theme under the 13MP. This is in view of the RM611bil public sector-related investment allocation, namely the RM430bil federal government's gross development expenditure, RM120bil from government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and RM61bil under private-public partnership,' the research house said in a report. It said a key highlight of the 13MP is the reaffirmation and continuation of major infrastructure projects such as the Penang Mutiara light rail transit (LRT), Johor Baru's elevated autonomous rapid transit, and the Asean Rail Connectivity Project. According to Maybank IB, sustaining private consumption growth will largely be dependent on raising workers' and household incomes. However, the research house noted a lack of real wage and salary growth on a per-worker basis, limiting income gains despite rising living costs. Monthly wage distribution remains heavily skewed toward the lower end, with more than a quarter of workers earning less than RM2,000 per month, and nearly half earning below the recently adopted living wage benchmark of RM3,100 set by government-linked companies (GLCs) and GLICs. The 13MP outlines several labour market interventions to raise incomes and support medium-term consumer spending growth. These include introduction of a two-tier minimum wage, scaling up the progressive wage policy, and encouraging large private companies to voluntarily adopt decent living wage practices – as already implemented by 34 GLCs and GLICs, which have set a living wage of RM3,100 per month. Notably, the 13MP stated that a multi-tier foreign worker levy is targeted for implementation in 2026, alongside plans to reduce the 'ceiling' for foreign workers' share of the total workforce to 10% by 2030, down from 15% currently. These measures are expected to raise employer costs, necessitating improvements in productivity and efficiency. The 13MP sets an ambitious target of 3.6% annual labour productivity growth over the next five years – a recurring goal also seen in the 11MP and 12MP, noted the research house. On fiscal consolidation, Maybank IB said cutting the budget deficit-to-GDP ratio to below 3% over the next five years is crucial to achieving the federal government's debt-to-GDP ratio of 60% by 2030. For 2025, the deficit consolidation is on track, with a target of RM80bil, or 3.8% of GDP. The next main fiscal reform on the agenda is subsidy rationalisation. 'It is also worth noting that the government is incurring savings in fuel subsidies thanks to the drop in crude oil prices, as well as firmer ringgit versus US dollar,' said Maybank IB. Beyond subsidy reforms, pension system reform is another key area to watch, given the sharp rise in government retirement spending over the past two decades. The proposed reform is expected to offer new options for existing civil servants, particularly younger staff, and shift new hires from the current 'defined benefit' pension scheme to a 'defined contribution' model with improved contract terms.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Power infrastructure push to benefit TNB
PETALING JAYA: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) is a key beneficiary and critical enabler of renewable energy (RE) under the 13th Malaysia Plan or 13MP, according to CGS International (CGSI) Research. In a note to clients, the research house said the recently unveiled plan reinforced the government's clean energy push and with over RM90bil planned through 2030. It saw strong upside to TNB's long-term earnings, backed by growing regulated returns and its central role in the country's energy transition. 'We estimate power demand to hit a new quarterly high in the second quarter of 2025 (2Q25) reversing its 1Q25 weakness. Step-up load from data centres (DCs) is emerging as the key growth driver. 'As of 1Q25, DC load utilisation stood at just 485MW – only 7% of TNB's 6.4GW in signed electricity supply agreements.' This alone suggested a robust 5% to 6% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in power demand over the next six years, more than double the 2.3% CAGR seen in 2019 to 2024, underpinned by sustained foreign direct inflows and structural shifts in the power landscape, it said. The research house said the Federal Court's ruling on TNB's 2018 tax case had revived concerns over RM7.2bil in potential cash tax liabilities dating back to 2003. 'Given that the issue stemmed from a procedural misstep, not ineligibility, we believe a constructive resolution remains possible via the ongoing schedule 7B resubmission under the purview of the Finance minister. 'To address investor concerns, we conduct a scenario analysis outlining the effect on cashflows and dividends under various outcomes, which suggests manageable gearing impact and scope to sustain dividend per share even under a worse-case outcome,' added CGSI Research. It noted that TNB shed as much as RM10bil in market value post the tax ruling, implying that investors might had priced in a worst-case outcome. 'Even under this scenario, our target price would fall to RM16.77 – still 22% above current levels. 'In our view, the market is overlooking long-term recurring earnings upside while TNB's regulated earnings offer defensive appeal,' it said. TNB was trading at RM13.60 at the time of writing. Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB), in its report, said while not a material earnings contributor, Spark Renewables which is TNB's RE platform in Australia, plays a role in its RE talent development (operational expertise in developed/liberalised RE markets) and could contribute to the longer-term fulfilment of TNB's environmental, social, and governance targets. 'We view TNB's risk-reward favourably, with the tax overhang already partly priced-in. Maintain 'buy' with an unchanged target price of RM15.50,' it said. It noted that Australia's overall outlook for RE appeared attractive, with growing policy support and favourable structural trends. Solar and wind presently account for 50% of Australia's capacity and 40% of generation. The government, it added, had set an 82% RE generation target by 2030 and is aggressively improving and expanding the transmission grid. 'A significant proportion of Australia's coal capacity (25%) will likely be retired over the next decade, due mainly to unfavourable market dynamics.' Spark is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TNB headquartered in Sydney. It owns and operates a 120MW solar farm. According to Maybank IB, Spark is also developing more than 2,000MW of solar, wind and battery storage projects across three sites in New South Wales.
