The 12th Malaysian Plan (12MP) is only as good as how well it is implemented as there were many well-crafted plans in the past that had fallen short of expectations due to poor implementation, economists and analysts chimed in to tell Business Today.
They said that aside from ensuring its proper execution, the government also ensure it had the necessary resources to finance the plan and ensure there is proper coordination of the various ministries.
Lee Heng Guie, Executive Director, Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC) adds, “A plan is only as good as how well it is executed, and it has to ensure that it has a fiscal resource to finance the expenditure at the same time look for long time revenues for the government. It needs to ensure there is a great deal of coordination with the different arms of the machinery and lastly political commitment to see the execution of the plans.
“If there are gaps in the implementation, it needs to be arrested immediately to ensure that plans are executed in accordance with the true intent of the plan.”
While the 12MP has clearly spelt out the road map, what is paramount is the implementation of the plans. There have been many well-crafted plans previously that had fallen short of expectations due to poor implementation.
The five-year plan (2021-2025) which was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today at the Dewan Rakyat is themed, “A Prosperous, Inclusive, Sustainable Malaysia”, which aims to steer the country out of the Covid-19 pandemic and re-establish the economy.
The 12MP is in sharp focus following previous iterations that while well-formed in structure and planning, has missed the target on a broad range of issues due to poor implementation.
“12MP is intended to bolster the economy of the vulnerable groups that had been hard hit by the pandemic and sectors of the economy that are hard hit by the pandemic. Its paramount efforts must be made to shore up the productivity of both the government servants as well as the private sector in order to achieve the well-intended intentions of the plan”, says Dr Yeah Kim Leng, Professor of Economics, Sunway University Business School.
On the other hand, Dr Shankaran Nambiar, Senior Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) says, “The government has come out with an almost flawless plan. The 12MP balances moving into the next century with addressing distributional concerns. The welfare of the disadvantaged will not be sacrificed as we move into a high talent, high-tech world”, commented Dr Shankaran Nambiar, Senior Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER).
Overall, the government has set more pragmatic targets in the 12MP relative to the more ambitious 11th Malaysia Five Year Plan (11MP) initial targets. They said the focus is tilted towards the 4th Industrial Revolution, enhancing the digital economy, raising SMEs contribution to the economy, as well as greater attention to renewable energy.
