# Malaysia Plans: The Five-Year Framework That Shapes Every Annual Budget

> The Malaysia Plan is the country's five-year medium-term development plan — the middle tier between long-term vision and the annual Budget that implements it piece by piece.

- Category: economy
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-24
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/economy/malaysia-plans

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On 31 July 2025, the Prime Minister tabled in the Dewan Rakyat a development
motion requiring investment of at least RM611 billion. Not the Budget — the
Budget for that year had already been tabled months earlier. This was an
entirely different motion: the Thirteenth Malaysia Plan, the plan that sets
the country's development direction not for one year, but for the five years
ahead, 2026 to 2030.

Most citizens only notice the Budget every October. But the Budget itself is
prepared against a bigger framework — and that framework is the Malaysia
Plan.

## Short answer: three layers of planning

Malaysia plans its development across three different time horizons, each
with its own function:

| Tier | Duration | Example | Function |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Long-term | 10-30 years | Vision 2020 (1991-2020), National Vision Policy (2001-2010) | Sets the country's big aspirations and goals |
| Medium-term | 5 years | **Malaysia Plan** (RMK13, 2026-2030) | Sets the thrusts, priorities, strategies and outcome targets |
| Short-term | 1 year | [Federal Budget](/en/economy/federal-budget) | Allocates actual ringgit for a specific year |

The Malaysia Plan is the middle tier. It translates long-term vision into
implementable strategy, and the annual Budget in turn translates that
strategy into actual allocations each year.

## What the Malaysia Plan actually is

The Malaysia Plan is not a one-year spending figure, nor is it legislation.
It is a policy document prepared by the Ministry of Economy, setting out
development thrusts, policy priorities, strategies and outcome targets for a
five-year period — then tabled as a **motion** for Parliament's debate and
approval, not as a bill in the way the Supply Bill is.

This tradition, in its present form, began earlier than full independence.
The First Malaya Plan (1956-1960) and the Second Malaya Plan (1961-1965)
preceded the First Malaysia Plan (RMK1, 1966-1970) — making RMK13 the 15th
five-year development plan since 1956, and the 13th since the name "Malaysia
Plan" came into use in 1966.

| Plan | Period |
| --- | --- |
| RMK1 | 1966-1970 |
| RMK2 | 1971-1975 |
| RMK3 | 1976-1980 |
| RMK4 | 1981-1985 |
| RMK5 | 1986-1990 |
| RMK6 | 1991-1995 |
| RMK7 | 1996-2000 |
| RMK8-RMK10 | 2001-2015 |
| RMK11 | 2016-2020 |
| RMK12 | 2021-2025 |
| **RMK13** | **2026-2030** |

The body that prepares it has also changed shape several times. The economic
secretariat established on 24 April 1956 was reorganised into the Economic
Planning Unit (EPU) in 1961 under the Prime Minister's Department, and the
EPU was dissolved for the last time on 23 December 2022 after the 15th
General Election, with its functions and responsibilities taken over by the
Ministry of Economy. It is this Ministry that now coordinates preparation of
the Malaysia Plan, through a top-down approach (macroeconomic frameworks by
central agencies such as the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance
and Bank Negara Malaysia) and a bottom-up approach (engagement sessions
through Inter-Agency Planning Group (IAPG) meetings and Technical Working
Group (TWG) meetings).

## How it relates to the annual Budget

This is the relationship most often misunderstood: the Malaysia Plan
**sets**, the Budget **delivers**.

RMK13 sets five-year outcome targets — GDP growth, gross national income per
capita, the poverty rate — and a development investment requirement of
RM430 billion from the Government over the 2026-2030 period. It does not
set how many ringgit a particular ministry may spend in 2027 specifically.

The annual figure only emerges when the Minister of Finance tables the
[Federal Budget](/en/economy/federal-budget) each year, complete with the
Development Expenditure Estimates that determine RMK13's cut for that year.
The actual allocation differs from year to year depending on project
priorities and the fiscal position at the time — the five-year total is not
divided evenly across the years.

The difference in approval process also reflects this difference in
function. The Malaysia Plan is approved as a policy motion; the Budget, on
the other hand, must go through the Supply Bill, which must pass the full
legislative process in Parliament before being gazetted as the Supply Act —
a cycle explained in full in
[Federal Budget Cycle](/en/economy/federal-budget).

## Mid-Term Review: a check-in halfway through

Five years is a long time to hold to one set of targets without review.
That is why a Malaysia Plan is typically reviewed at the midpoint of its
period through a **Mid-Term Review (Kajian Separuh Penggal, KSP)** — also
tabled as a separate motion in Parliament.

The Mid-Term Review of the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (KSP RMKe-12), for example,
was tabled by the Prime Minister on 11 September 2023 — introducing new
policies and strategies under the Ekonomi MADANI framework without waiting
for RMK13. The same mechanism has been used for RMK2, RMK7, RMK8, RMK9 and
RMK11. It allows the Government to adjust strategy midway — without having
to redraft the entire five-year plan.

## RMK13 (2026-2030): what's changing

RMK13 is themed **"Redesigning Development"**, framing the country's
socioeconomic goals across three dimensions: High Income and Sustainable,
Quality and Inclusive Living, and Sustainable Environment.

Its framework is organised around **4 Pillars** and **27 Priorities**,
supported by more than 120 strategies and more than 600 initiatives:

| Pillar | Focus |
| --- | --- |
| A. Strengthening Economic Complexity | High-value industries, green/blue economy, food security, productivity |
| B. Enhancing Social Mobility | Education reform, labour market, regional balance |
| C. Accelerating the Public Service Reform Agenda | Service delivery (ILTIZAM), GovTech, governance, fiscal matters |
| D. Enhancing Rakyat Wellbeing and Environmental Sustainability | Health, housing, safety, planetary health, disaster management |

On investment, the Government has committed to invest **at least RM611
billion** for RMK13 — RM430 billion estimated from Government development
allocation, RM120 billion from domestic direct investment in strategic
sectors by Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) and Government-Linked
Investment Companies (GLICs), and RM61 billion through public-private
partnership (PPP) methods.

Among the key outcome targets by 2030: average GDP growth of 4.5%-5.5% a
year, gross national income (GNI) per capita rising to RM77,200, fiscal
deficit below 3% of GDP, an absolute poverty rate of 4.7%, and the share of
employee compensation to GDP rising to 40%.

Its approval process also followed the usual route of the bicameral
Parliament: the motion was tabled at the Dewan Rakyat on 31 July 2025, then
tabled at the Dewan Negara on 25 August 2025. Both Houses approved the
motion before the plan period began in 2026.

## Common mistakes

**"The Malaysia Plan is a five-year Budget."** No. The RMK sets thrusts and
targets; it does not allocate specific ringgit by ministry for each year —
that is the annual Budget's job.

**"RMK13's RM611 billion is all Government money."** No. Only RM430 billion
is Government development allocation; the rest comes from GLC/GLIC direct
investment (RM120 billion) and public-private partnership methods (RM61
billion).

**"The Malaysia Plan is approved like the Supply Bill."** No. It is tabled
and approved as a policy motion, not a financial bill that must pass through
the full legislative process.

**"Targets in the RMK cannot be revised until the next plan."** No. The
Mid-Term Review at the midpoint allows policy and strategy to be adjusted
without waiting for the full five years.

## What's next

To understand how a small part of RMK13's RM430 billion is translated into
actual annual allocations, see
[Federal Budget Cycle](/en/economy/federal-budget). For the GDP context and
macro indicators underlying RMK13's outcome targets, see
[Malaysia GDP Overview](/en/economy/gdp-overview). For how a motion like
RMK13 is actually debated and approved, see
[Malaysian Parliament](/en/government/parliament).

The full RMK13 document — including the Main Document, executive summary
and presentation speech text — is available on the Ministry of Economy's
official portal at rmk13.ekonomi.gov.my.

## Sources

- Rancangan Malaysia Ketiga Belas (RMK13) — Melakar Semula Pembangunan — https://rmk13.ekonomi.gov.my/ (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Soalan Lazim RMK13 — https://rmk13.ekonomi.gov.my/rmk13-soalan-lazim/ (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Risalah RMK13: Kerangka 4 Tonggak dan 9 Tumpuan — https://rmk13.ekonomi.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Risalah_RMK13-1.pdf (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Teks Ucapan YAB Perdana Menteri: Rancangan Malaysia Ketiga Belas 2026-2030 (Dewan Rakyat) — https://www.pmo.gov.my/2025/07/teks-ucapan-yab-perdana-menteri-rancangan-malaysia-ketiga-belas-2026-2030/ (Jabatan Perdana Menteri)
- Teks Ucapan RMK13 — Dewan Negara (Isnin, 25 Ogos 2025) — https://rmk13.ekonomi.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/26082025-TEKS-UCAPAN-RMK13-DEWAN-NEGARA.pdf (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Rancangan Malaysia Terdahulu (Previous Plans) — https://ekonomi.gov.my/en/economic-developments/development-plans/rmk/previous-plans (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Sejarah Kementerian Ekonomi / Unit Perancang Ekonomi — https://ekonomi.gov.my/en/department-profile/profile/history (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Teks Ucapan Perdana Menteri: Pembentangan Usul Kajian Separuh Penggal Rancangan Malaysia Kedua Belas 2021-2025 — https://www.pmo.gov.my/2023/09/teks-ucapan-perdana-menteri-yab-dato-seri-anwar-bin-ibrahim-pembentangan-usul-rancangan-malaysia-kedua-belas-2021-2025/ (Jabatan Perdana Menteri)

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