PM: Religious agencies, Islamic figures should provide input to 12MP, Budget 2024

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 4 — Islamic affairs agencies and religious figures should provide input into national policies, such as the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and the national annual budget, so that the concept of Malaysia MADANI can be applied, for more sustainable development of the country and its people.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the parties involved need to provide input as a whole in the policy, not only focusing on the field of Islam but also on other areas that need it.

“I have relayed this to Jakim (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) officials to cooperate because the approach used in the past was different. We do not use these Islamic agencies solely for religious programmes.

“When I conducted the mid-term review of 12MP, I sent the draft to the director-general of Jakim and asked her for input, not on the religious-related initiatives (but) on 12MP,” he said when officiating the Islamic Affairs Management Convention in conjunction with the ‘Ijtimak Perdana Agensi Agama Seluruh Malaysia (IJPAM 2023)’, at the Sabah International Convention Centre, here tonight.

Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Bin Mohd Ali; and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Nai’im Mokhtar.

The Prime Minister said that the input was important so that he could present 12MP as an injection and view from Islamic experts, so that the spirit of MADANI could be applied.

He added that Malaysia MADANI is also an important ‘perencah’ (seasoning) in the Budget 2024, which will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 13.

The six-day IJPAM 2023, to conclude on Oct 5, saw the participation of 1,837 participants from various Islamic affairs agencies, at the federal and state levels nationwide.