KUALA LUMPUR: The Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister's Department will prepare a mid-term study on the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) to assess and review the existing policies and targets.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Yaakob said it would be carried out between this September and September next year to ensure all development goals could be achieved.
He said Malaysia's performance for the 2022 Budget development expenditure performance stood at 50.35 per cent as at Aug 15, compared with 26.4 per cent on April 15.
He said unspent allocations must be returned to the Finance Ministry to be distributed to ministries in need of funds.
"All ministries have been urged to improve expenditure implementation performance.
"Today, I chaired the second 12MP Monitoring Committee meeting attended by senior ministers, as well as heads of departments and agencies."
Ismail Sabri said the committee and the National Development Project Implementation Facilitation Committee would continue to assess current issues and challenges to expedite the implementation of development projects for 12MP to benefit the people.
In line with the country's target to achieve high income nation status in 2025, the committee agreed to conduct close and continuous monitoring on the main achievement indicators.
This, said Ismail Sabri, was to ensure the implementation of interventions following global economic instability and geopolitical conflicts that could affect inflation, as well as the country's economic changes.
"Malaysia has become an ageing nation this year and will become an aged nation in 2044.
"An ageing nation is defined as the population of those aged 65 and above having reached seven per cent of the overall population. Meanwhile, an aged nation means 14 per cent of the population are those aged 65 and above.
"Hence, the committee has agreed for the National Agenda for Ageing Nation to be prepared and coordinated by the EPU."
Ismail Sabri said the government was committed to achieving the zero hardcore poverty target by 2025 through the Hardcore Poverty Eradication Programme (BMTKM) that started at the end of April under Phase 1, involving 80 pioneer localities and about 5,000 household heads.
"The implementation of BMTKM will use a new approach that is more holistic and integrated, and focuses on income generating activities among the hardcore poor household heads."