KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will be the leading economy in South-East Asia with a high quality of life, if the targets set out in the 13th Malaysian Plan (13MP) are met.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who tabled the Plan in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, said it would prioritise three focal points – good governance, ensuring value creation in all economic sectors, and ensuring an inclusive development that raises the living standards of the people.
The five-year plan, themed “Melakar Semula Pembangunan” (Redesigning Development) will set the country’s direction from next year until 2030 and includes strategies for both the young and the old.
The initiatives include mandating children start pre-school at the age of five, and boosting TVET and STEM education.
The mandatory retirement age of 60 will also be reviewed as Putrajaya aims to increase the participation of seniors in the labour market.
Malaysia raised the retirement age to 60 in 2012 and there are proposals to raise it further to 65.
Anwar said a total investment of RM611bil is required under the Plan, with RM430bil coming from Putrajaya.
“The remaining RM120bil will be from government-linked companies (GLC) and government-linked investment companies through direct domestic investments.
A new course: Civil servants watching the live broadcast of the 13MP presentation by Anwar in Putrajaya. — Bernama
“Support from the private sector through the public-private-partnership will raise the remaining RM61bil,” Anwar said.
Over the next five years, he said Putrajaya would channel RM227bil to the economic sector, and another RM133bil to the social sector, including RM67bil for education and RM40bil for healthcare.
Anwar said RM51bil was allocated for the security sector and RM17bil for the administrative sector.
“This strategic distribution reflects the government’s commitment to drive national development comprehensively,” said Anwar.
In his speech, Anwar said the government has reduced new debt commitments from RM99bil in 2022 to RM92.6bil in 2023 and RM76.8bil last year.
“This achievement puts us on a solid track towards achieving the 3% fiscal deficit target by reducing new debt each year,” added Anwar.
At the same time, Anwar said the foundations of the economy had to be re-examined to overcome weaknesses and address new trends.
“We need to boost economic growth by shifting to value creation in all economic sectors,” he said, adding that Malaysia cannot rely solely on the production of basic materials in the agricultural, industrial and service sectors.
To ensure bumiputra companies are competitive internationally, Anwar said they will be given assistance to get listed on Bursa Malaysia.
This includes organising business relay-races and providing support to bumiputra entrepreneurs with the aim of producing 10 companies worth over RM500mil.
“The Gate to Global programmes will be enhanced to increase bumiputra entrepreneurs’ competitiveness at the global stage.”
He added that Sabah and Sarawak bumiputra will also be strengthened by expanding business opportunities through the provision of commercial premises and access to financing, as well as entrepreneurial training and mentoring programmes.
Good governance, Anwar said, is crucial to ensuring national wealth is distributed fairly and equitably.
“We will continue to strengthen integrity and accountability, improve the efficiency of public service delivery and strengthen fiscal management.”
On value creation, Anwar said the main pillar would be digitalisation and advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.
“Emphasis will be placed on the development of high-growth, high-value industries and high-value sectors,” he added.
Anwar also said the people’s living standards will be raised by intensifying efforts to help people cope with the rise in cost of living.
Anwar said efforts to strengthen administration based on integrity and accountability are beginning to show results, with Malaysia jumping 11 places to 23rd in the World Competitiveness Index 2025.
The 13MP will be debated for eight days in Parliament starting Monday.
