Johari Ghani states “12MP is important to secure Malaysia's future post-pandemic.”

The 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) is important and challenging given the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited government fiscal space and curtailed its fiscal sustainability. Johari said the government must learn from the pandemic and look into the increasing capacity of public healthcare as COVID-19 has exposed the inadequacy and limitations of the country's healthcare system to face a major pandemic. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed the vulnerability of our country's food security position. If other countries were to stop their exports of staple food products, an importer like Malaysia could be running out of food. In the 12MP, Johari said, the government must consider farming or production of food a necessity by adopting high technology systems, engineering precision, and sustainable concepts to create a sustainable food security ecosystem.