# The Ministry of Economy and the Malaysia Plans

> The Ministry of Economy is the federal ministry that coordinates national development planning and prepares the five-year Malaysia Plans — inheritor of the functions of the former Economic Planning Unit (EPU) after it was dissolved in December 2022.

- Category: government
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-01
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/government/ministry-of-economy-malaysia-plans

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Every time the Prime Minister stands in the Dewan Rakyat to table the nation's
five-year development plan, the thick document in his hands does not simply
appear out of nowhere. It is prepared over years by a ministry that most people
rarely notice — the Ministry of Economy. And the ministry itself is new in its
current form, even though the work it does began well before full independence.

## At a glance

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Name | Ministry of Economy (Kementerian Ekonomi) |
| Type | Federal ministry |
| Established | After the 15th General Election; took over the EPU's functions on 23 December 2022 |
| Functional heir to | Economic Planning Unit (EPU) |
| Flagship output | Malaysia Plan (five-year development plan) |
| Main department | Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) |
| Website | `ekonomi.gov.my` |

## What the Ministry of Economy actually does

The Ministry of Economy is not the ministry that spends the government's daily
money, nor is it the one that collects taxes. Its job is to **plan** — setting
the direction of the nation's development for the years ahead, then deciding how
much of the development resources are allocated and where.

Based on the ministry's own functions page, its tasks fall into four clusters:

- **Socioeconomic development planning** — drawing up medium- and long-term
  socioeconomic development plans at the national, regional and state levels;
  conducting research and advising the government on economic matters;
  strengthening inclusive development including the Bumiputera agenda; and
  formulating energy policy related to oil and gas.
- **Allocation of resources** — determining the ceilings and allocation of
  development expenditure, and carrying out value management for development
  projects exceeding **RM50 million**.
- **Implementation, coordination and monitoring** — tracking the progress of
  national development programmes and initiatives and implementing the
  ministry's own programmes.
- **Stakeholder facilitation** — acting as the national secretariat for
  socioeconomic planning bodies, including the National Economic Action Council
  and the National Development Planning Committee.

The most useful way to understand the division: the Ministry of Economy
**plans and allocates** development, while the [Federal
Budget](/economy/federal-budget) tabled by the Ministry of Finance translates
part of that plan into actual ringgit each year.

## From EPU to the Ministry of Economy

This institution has changed form many times, but its core mandate — preparing
the nation's development plans — has remained unchanged through every
restructuring.

The story begins with the **Economic Secretariat** established on
**24 April 1956** to support the Economic Committee of the Federal Executive
Council. In **1961**, it was reorganised into the **Economic Planning Unit
(EPU)** under the Prime Minister's Department. By **1970**, the EPU began
operating under a Director-General structure, with Tan Sri Dato' Thong Yaw Hong
as its first Director-General.

Then came a wave of politically driven restructurings:

| Date | Change |
| --- | --- |
| 2018 | After GE-14, the EPU was reorganised into the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MEA) |
| 18 December 2019 | The EPU was officially dissolved; its roles and functions were taken over by the MEA |
| 10 March 2020 | The EPU was re-established under the Prime Minister's Department |
| 23 December 2022 | After GE-15, the EPU was dissolved again; its responsibilities were transferred to the newly established Ministry of Economy |

This means that when you come across an old reference to "EPU" or "Economic
Planning Unit" in policy documents, it refers to functions that now sit within
the Ministry of Economy. The ministerial post has also changed hands: following
Rafizi Ramli's resignation effective 17 June 2025, Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir
was appointed Minister of Economy on 16 December 2025 — the post rotates, but
the ministry and its mandate remain the same.

## The Malaysia Plan: the ministry's flagship output

The Ministry of Economy's most well-known output is the **Malaysia Plan (RMK)**
— the nation's five-year medium-term development plan. It is this ministry that
coordinates its preparation, proposing macroeconomic targets and issuing
planning guidelines to all ministries and agencies, through a top-down and
bottom-up approach.

Before it reaches Parliament, the draft passes through a chain of endorsement:
the **National Development Planning Committee (JPPN)** chaired by the Chief
Secretary to the Government, then the Prime Minister's Special Committee, then
the Cabinet, and finally tabled in Parliament as a **motion** for debate and
approval — not as a bill.

This tradition began earlier than the name "Malaysia Plan" itself. The First
Malaysia Plan covered 1966-1970, and the cycle has continued unbroken since:

| Plan | Period |
| --- | --- |
| First to Fifth Malaysia Plan | 1966-1990 |
| Sixth to Tenth Malaysia Plan | 1991-2015 |
| Eleventh Malaysia Plan | 2016-2020 |
| Twelfth Malaysia Plan (RMKe-12) | 2021-2025 |
| Thirteenth Malaysia Plan (RMK13) | 2026-2030 |

RMKe-12 (2021-2025) was themed **"A Prosperous, Inclusive, Sustainable
Malaysia"**, focusing on the private sector as the engine of development,
inclusive development to tackle poverty and income gaps, green development
towards a low-carbon nation, and a specific focus on basic infrastructure and
services in Sabah and Sarawak. The current edition, **RMK13 (2026-2030)**, is
themed **"Redesigning Development"**. Full details of each plan — its thrusts,
targets and investment figures — are set out in the [Malaysia
Plans](/economy/malaysia-plans) article.

## Agencies under the Ministry of Economy

Beyond preparing the Malaysia Plan, the Ministry of Economy oversees several
departments and agencies that carry out statistical work, regional development
and Bumiputera mandates:

- **Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)** — its main department, which
  produces official economic, social, demographic and environmental statistics.
  See [DOSM — Department of Statistics Malaysia](/government/dosm).
- **Regional corridor authorities** — the Iskandar Regional Development
  Authority (IRDA), the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), the
  East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), the Sabah Economic
  Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA) and the Regional Corridor
  Development Authority of Sarawak (RECODA).
- **Bumiputera mandate agencies** — the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit
  (TERAJU), Yayasan Peneraju and Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (EKUINAS).
- **Oil and gas** — the Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC) and the
  Johor Petroleum Development Corporation (JPDC).

The Ministry of Economy's official agencies page lists a specific number of
agencies as of the review date. Confirm the exact current arrangement at
`ekonomi.gov.my` before relying on it for formal purposes, as the ministry's
agency structure may change after a Cabinet restructuring.

## Ministry of Economy vs Ministry of Finance

These two ministries are often confused because both deal with the nation's
"money" — but their divisions of labour differ:

| | Ministry of Economy | Ministry of Finance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Focus | Planning medium- and long-term development | Managing annual revenue, taxes and expenditure |
| Main instrument | Malaysia Plan (5 years) | Federal Budget (annual) |
| Sets | Ceilings and allocation of development expenditure | Actual ringgit allocations each year |
| Approved as | Policy motion in Parliament | Supply Bill (Supply Act) |

In short: the Ministry of Economy sets the five-year framework, and the Ministry
of Finance fills it in year by year.

## What's next

To understand the details of the Malaysia Plan itself — the thrusts, outcome
targets and investment figures of each edition — see [Malaysia
Plans](/economy/malaysia-plans). To see how the five-year framework is
translated into actual allocations each year, see the [Federal Budget
Cycle](/economy/federal-budget). And for the official statistics that underpin
every planning target, see [DOSM — Department of Statistics
Malaysia](/government/dosm).

The Ministry of Economy's official portal at `ekonomi.gov.my` lists the full
functions, the current list of agencies and the documents for each Malaysia
Plan for further reference.

## Sources

- Sejarah Kementerian Ekonomi / Unit Perancang Ekonomi — https://ekonomi.gov.my/en/department-profile/profile/history (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Fungsi Kementerian Ekonomi — https://ekonomi.gov.my/en/department-profile/profile/functions (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Agensi di bawah Kementerian Ekonomi — https://ekonomi.gov.my/en/department-profile/organisation/ministry-economys-agencies (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Rancangan Malaysia Terdahulu (Previous Plans) — https://ekonomi.gov.my/en/economic-developments/development-plans/rmk/previous-plans (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Rancangan Malaysia Kedua Belas (RMKe-12) 2021-2025 — https://www.ekonomi.gov.my/en/economic-developments/development-plans/rmk/twelfth-malaysia-plan-2021-2025 (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Soalan Lazim RMK13 — https://rmk13.ekonomi.gov.my/rmk13-soalan-lazim/ (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Perancang Pembangunan Negara (JPPN) Bilangan 3 Tahun 2023 — dipengerusikan Ketua Setiausaha Negara — https://ekonomi.gov.my/en/node/6223 (Kementerian Ekonomi)
- Rafizi Ramli Resigns As Economy Minister, Effective June 17 — https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2428360 (Bernama)
- Akmal Nasrullah succeeds Rafizi Ramli as Malaysia's new economy minister — https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/12/16/akmal-nasrullah-succeeds-rafizi-ramli-as-malaysias-new-economy-minister/202156 (Malay Mail)

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