PUTRAJAYA Sept 1, 2026 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has directed the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) to implement “Operasi Sifar Tertangguh” (Operation Zero Delay) for the remaining four months of 2026, focusing on completing pending projects, payments, land matters, utilities, contracts, assets and unresolved decisions.
Speaking at the ministry’s monthly assembly on 1 September 2026, Zahid, who is also KKDW minister, said good planning must be followed by effective execution so that benefits actually reach rural communities. With limited time left in the year, he instructed all divisions, departments and agencies under KKDW to add fewer new initiatives and instead finish what has already been started.
A comprehensive review this month must classify outstanding items into three groups: those that can be resolved immediately, those requiring higher-level intervention (with a named decision-maker), and those no longer practical or viable, which should be closed rather than left lingering in the system.
“My principle is simple: No issue without an owner, no project without a timeline, no meeting without a decision,” Zahid said. He warned that delays in land acquisition, utility coordination or contractor payments create implementation gaps that prevent the public from receiving benefits on time, while also increasing costs.
Zahid expressed particular frustration over late payments to contractors who have completed work and met progress milestones, including rural road (JALB) projects. He noted that such delays force some firms to close, trigger lawsuits from suppliers and subcontractors, and ripple through the local economic chain of workers and service providers. “I am not angry, I am just ‘hot’,” he remarked, adding that KKDW is often blamed even when the root cause lies elsewhere.
The same discipline will apply to preparations for the 2027 budget. KKDW has requested about RM14.39 billion in development allocation for the second rolling plan of the 13th Malaysia Plan, against a shadow ceiling of RM8.3 billion from the Finance Ministry — a gap of roughly RM6 billion. Zahid stressed that success should be measured by the value and change delivered to the rakyat, not by how much is spent or how many projects are launched.
Development only has meaning, he concluded, when its benefits actually reach the people.
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