KUALA LUMPUR: Postponement of the 12th Malaysia Plan's (12MP) tabling in Parliament is due largely to the recent change in the federal administration, as the new government needs time to review the policy.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the date for the tabling was pushed to next year to allow Putrajaya to fine-tune the 12MP so that it will be "realistic and meet the demands of the public".
He said this in response to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Port Dickson) in the Dewan Rakyat, today.
Anwar asked Mustapa to state the reasons why the government decided to postpone the tabling of the 12MP to next year, when it was initially supposed to be tabled in Parliament this month.
"Although the 12MP tabling is postponed to next year, it is still based on the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV2030) which was launched by the former prime minister in Oct 2019.
"SPV2030's objectives are to reduce the income and wealth gaps, as well as to create a country that is united, prosperous and dignified. SPV2030 is a continuation of several of the previous policies and it is more inclusive.
"Even if the 12MP is tabled tomorrow or the day after, several matters will not be synchronised and will also not be realistic," he told the Dewan Rakyat.
However, Anwar, who is a former deputy prime minister, said the reason given is "petty", and he stressed the importance of Members of Parliament (MPs) to get sufficient time to debate and provide input for the 12MP.
In response, Mustapa said since the tabling will be done next year, all MPs, including Anwar, will get sufficient time to debate and provide additional input for the plan.
"God willing, we will all have plenty of space to debate (on 12MP)," Mustapa said.