Engagement sessions on 12th Malaysia Plan still ongoing - Mustapa Mohamed

According to him, sessions have been held with most state governments, members of parliament (MPs) and think tanks on matters regarding allocations as well as policies and strategies.

“Following the engagement session, I find there are things that need to be looked at again. And I have no problem for MPs who want to continue this session of engagement because there is still time. Among the new things that I have announced in the Dewan Rakyat was about the Poverty Line Income.

“We have been holding engagement sessions with 12 members of parliament and we have received many concrete views in formulating a more effective policy on the poverty line in the 12MP,” he said during the oral question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Mustapa also answered a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Rahim (BN-Baling) on the engagement session on the 12MP.

The government was previously scheduled to table the 12MP in Parliament on August 6 but decided to postpone it to January 2021 to enable the five-year blueprint to undergo a review due to impacts caused by COVID-19 pandemic on the world’s economy.

Mustapa said the exact date for the tabling of the 12MP has yet to be decided.

Earlier, it was reported that the Economic Planning Unit will restructure the 12MP by taking into account the current economic situation to ensure the country's economic growth remains on a path of sustainability and inclusivity.

Mustapa said the MPs would be given enough time to debate the 12MP in Parliament.