KUALA LUMPUR (March 3): The government is limiting funding requests for development projects costing more than RM300 million to once every two years, under a new guideline under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).

The first application window for development projects exceeding RM300 million is now open from March 1 to March 31 under Rolling Plan 1, Economy Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Rafizi Ramli said. "If applications are not submitted this time, the next window will be in 2027," Rafizi told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

Applications for development projects costing below RM300 million can still be submitted annually under the rolling plan as usual, he said.

Rafizi was responding to Riduan Rubin (independent-Tenom), who inquired about the improvements the ministry plans to implement to streamline and strengthen the project implementation process under the 13MP that spans from 2026 to 2030.

The new guideline is part of the government’s effort to control costs and prevent leakages, waste, and delays in development projects, Rafizi said. Previously, applications could be submitted every year, “leading to a tendency to apply for funding without proper planning”, he noted.

However, “once approval was granted, frequent changes caused significant issues during project implementation", he said.

Another improvement under the 13MP is the optimal utilisation of government-owned land under the Department of the Director General of Lands and Mines, Rafizi said.

"Any new development project must first consider existing government-owned land rather than requesting allocations to purchase new land," he said.

The government has also made it mandatory for agencies and departments to plan development projects based on total life cycle costs to avoid costly modifications after approval, he added.

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