In 2019, the Director of Energy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs claimed that Renewable Energy (RE) capacity additions already exceeded the target for 2020 by three times. However, the quoted additions included large hydro, which was excluded in the initial target definition. In fact, by 2020, the RE capacity fell significantly short of the target. The example shows that there is little scrutiny over statements made by public officials, and that they can make inaccurate claims without being held publicly accountable. Over the last two decades, Malaysia has issued a large number of Renewable Energy (RE) targets, policies, action plans and roadmaps. Nevertheless, in 2020, less than 2% of electricity generation came from renewable sources other than large hydro. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the achievement of past RE targets and dissect how those achievements were monitored by policymakers, authorities and in the public discourse. The research finds that several obstacles prevent effective monitoring, like confusion created by unclear and changing definitions of RE, as well as the lack of access to sufficiently high-quality data. The difficulty of monitoring target achievement allows decision-makers to set targets without appropriate implementation measures, or to make inaccurate claims without risking public consequences