The 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) was announced with bold headlines and a powerful theme “Melakar Semula Pembangunan,” or “Redesigning Development.” Over RM611 billion in total investment, an AI-powered economy, 5G expansion, a green future, one million affordable homes, fiscal discipline, and job creation by the hundreds of thousands.
It sounds like the kind of plan that could change a nation.
But as the speech ended and ministers posed for press photos, I couldn’t stop thinking about the makcik selling kuih by the roadside who just saw her rent go up.
Or the graduate doing three food delivery apps to support his family.
Or the father quietly skipping lunch every day so his kids have enough to eat.
Because while the 13MP aims to build a modern economy by 2030, many Malaysians are struggling to survive 2025.
A Plan in the Clouds, While Feet Are in the Mud
Let’s be fair: long-term planning is essential.
Malaysia must prepare for AI, climate change, global trade shifts, an ageing population, and digital transformation. No one is denying that.
But here’s the problem: planning in the clouds, when your people are stuck in the mud, feels disconnected even cruel.
Right now, millions of Malaysians are not just economically anxious they are economically exhausted.
They’re tired of surviving. Tired of being told to be patient while everything around them gets more expensive.
Tired of being blamed for being “unskilled,” “not adaptable,” or “living beyond their means” when the truth is they’re just not being supported by a system that listens.
And it’s not just inflation from global trends it’s also our own doing. The expansion of the Sales and Service Tax (SST) from 6% to 8%, coupled with broader coverage, has quietly pushed up prices of even the most common goods.
Take a walk through any pasar tani or pasar malam. You’ll hear stallholders apologising for raising prices. A simple bundle of bananas now costs RM7 instead of RM5. Local apples, onions, cooking oil, diapers everything has crept up, sen by sen, until the full basket tells a painful story.
And when people complain, they’re told to tighten their belts. But those belts are already on their last notch.
So when the government launches a grand plan with lofty language, but doesn’t answer the urgent pain people are living with, the rakyat don’t feel hopeful they feel abandoned.
The Grocery Aisle Tells a Different Story
Go to any pasar raya or kedai runcit. You’ll hear quiet sighs and see tense calculator fingers.
Basic items like rice, cooking oil, chicken, eggs, and vegetables have become noticeably more expensive over the last few years even with subsidies in place.
Middle-income families who used to be able to save now find themselves living paycheck to paycheck.
And the poor? They are now experts at surviving with next to nothing.
Meanwhile, wages have not kept pace.
The minimum wage is RM1,500 and that’s only for those with formal contracts.
Gig workers, informal labourers, and many small traders have no wage security, no EPF, no SOCSO, and no sick leave.
We hear about "reskilling", but who’s offering childcare to the woman who wants to attend that TVET course?
We hear about “high-growth industries,” but when will the benefits of semiconductors and AI reach the kampung in Kelantan or the flats in Sentul?
You cannot talk about “building a future-ready Malaysia” when the present is crushing people.
All Policy, No People
Here’s a hard question: Why do our national plans sound more like academic reports than cries from the ground?
Too often, our development blueprints are filled with jargon and targets but lack empathy.
What we need are policies rooted in human realities:
- Not just “affordable housing” targets but safe homes with working lifts, reliable water, and fair rent.
- Not just “healthcare transformation” but shorter waiting times, more doctors in rural areas, and better mental health support.
- Not just “job creation” but decent jobs with stable income, career paths, and dignity.
Instead, most ministries are still caught up in bureaucracy. Forms, portals, approvals, audits paperwork over people-work.
You can launch 100 good initiatives, but if the delivery fails at the first counter or the third website page, you’ve already lost the rakyat’s trust.
Who is This Plan Really For?
One of the big promises in RMK13 is to create 700,000 jobs in manufacturing and 500,000 in digital sectors.
But we need to ask who will actually get these jobs?
Because right now, the majority of Malaysians don’t have the means to catch up.
A 25-year-old from a working-class background doesn’t have access to elite networks, digital mentorship, or capital to start a “tech-based startup.”
His family might need him to earn today, not study another online course with no guarantee of income.
And while the government says it wants to reduce reliance on foreign labour what’s being done to make local jobs more attractive? Better wages? Better protections? Or just more expectations without support?
Without real structural change, the 13MP may just end up benefiting the same elites who’ve always had a head start.
The Rakyat’s Priorities Are Simpler
Ask the average Malaysian what they want, and the answers are rarely complicated:
- A stable job.
- A house they can afford.
- A school that teaches their kids well.
- A clinic that doesn’t make them wait four hours.
- A public office that treats them with respect.
They don’t need “smart farming solutions powered by blockchain” as much as they need fair access to land, water, and market prices.
They don’t need “urban regeneration through multi-modal mobility systems” as much as they need a bus that comes on time and a road that isn’t flooded.
These are not unsolvable problems. But they’ve become invisible to those who write our national plans because they are too busy chasing international praise or the next KPI.
From Planning to Listening: A National Shift Needed
The 13MP could be a turning point but only if the culture of governance changes.
We must stop assuming that rakyat are passive recipients of policy.
We must start treating them as co-creators of solutions.
That means:
- Listening more than launching.
- Evaluating based on lived outcomes, not just financial audits.
- Spending more time in communities than in hotel workshops.
When a fisherman in Sabah says, “I just want proper cold storage,” that’s a development insight.
When a senior citizen says, “I can’t walk far, but the clinic is too far,” that’s urban planning feedback.
We don’t need more consultants. We need more compassion.
This Is Not Just About Economy It’s About Dignity
There’s something deeper here.
People are not just suffering because the economy is tough.
They are suffering because they feel ignored.
They feel like Malaysia is developing, but not for them.
They see ministers with police escorts while they wait 45 minutes for a crowded MRT.
They hear about AI factories while they have to call three agencies just to check a BRIM application.
They watch news about rising exports while their child skips school to work.
And yet, they are still trying. Still working. Still hoping.
That hope is a national asset. It must not be squandered.
What Would a People-Centered Plan Look Like?
Imagine if the government restructured the RM430 billion in development spending to make the following happen:
- A guaranteed monthly income floor for all citizens, especially those working informally.
- Free childcare centres in every community to support working mothers.
- A nation-wide food bank and school meal programme to end child hunger.
- Housing maintenance funds to repair the flats that the “affordable housing” programme forgot.
- A nationwide mental health support hotline and community-based care model.
- Fully funded TVET + job placement pathways, designed with employers and jobseekers.
- Mobile government counters that go to underserved areas weekly, instead of expecting people to come to KL.
These are not utopian dreams. These are real interventions if we choose people over PR.
A Final Word
The 13th Malaysia Plan is ambitious, forward-looking, and full of promise.
But a national plan is only as meaningful as the difference it makes to real lives.
Right now, too many Malaysians feel they’re being left out of the promise of development.
They hear speeches, but not solutions.
They see plans, but not progress.
Let RMK13 not be another beautiful document that gathers dust while pain gathers speed.
Let it be the moment we said: enough is enough.
No more suffering in silence. No more being sidelined.
Let this be the plan that finally, truly puts people first.
Annan Vaithegi - columnist who writes about social policy, governance, and the economy from the rakyat’s point of view. He believes real progress begins when governments start listening at eye level not from above.
Annan Vaithegi (annanvaithegi@icloud.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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