May 31, 2013
The opposition is merely scoring political points in their tooth and nail bashing of the goods and services tax (GST).
COMMENT
By Habhajan Singh
This is a real taxing issue. We are talking about the goods and services tax (GST).
On the government side, there is some level of paralysis. It seems to lack clarity and the gumption to take this tax plan to the rakyat.
It has been sitting on the drawing board for years, almost on the verge of festering. Members of the federal opposition, on the other hand, have been having a field day with the GST, playing up the issue to the hilt. It was a hot potato during the just concluded 13th General Election (GE13).
The opposition lawmakers seem ever on the lookout for opportunities to pounce on the political leaders from the other side of the Parliament divide.
The latest incident came less than a fortnight after the nation went to the polls on May 5.
The spark came from a mere citing of an example by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala.
Speaking at a post-election forum on May 17, Idris was driving home the point on revenue collection. GST is basically a consumption tax that would generate revenue for the national coffers.
In doing so, he cited, for discussion purposes, the current Singapore GST rate of 7%.
Not that the government is about to slap a 7% GST rate for our long-delayed GST plan. At that rate, the government’s revenue would be somewhere in the range of RM27 billion, he estimated.
Jala’s “latest revelation” was supposed to have let the cat out of the bag, according to DAP political education director and Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong.
“Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had repeatedly warned that Barisan Nasional’s (BN) return to government in the GE13 would mean a higher tax burden for the man on the street, especially through the introduction of the GST, seen as BN’s method to balance the subsidy heavy budget,” he wrote in a statement dated May 18, the very day after Jala’s session.
The previous administration had been dithering on GST simply because they feared its impact as they move into the polls. As it was, BN was preparing for a tough battle. So, they would have argued, why add to their woes by implementing an unpopular GST plan before the polls.
During GE13, many of us would have received text messages and emails opposing the GST. When I received a Whatsapp message on GST from a former banker, I decided to check his views on GST.
“Are you suggesting that Malaysia does not implement the GST? As you know, we are about the few nations in the world which have yet to do it,” I shot back an enquiry.
In the exchange of messages, his replies were grounded not on economics but politics. It pretty much echoes the sentiment expressed by DAP’s Liew who wrote: “The alternative to the introduction of new taxes is to reduce corruption, wastage and cronyism — the PR formula.”
Really, it’s that simple? Agreed, the nation needs to battle the scourge of corruption.
But the opposition is merely scoring political points in their tooth and nail bashing of the GST. Maybe it is time they suggest proper checks and balances on the implementation of the GST itself, rather than merely pushing it away.
The bottom line is plain and simple: the country needs it. It is a consumption tax. It is meant to replace the existing sales tax which we are already paying.
In fact there will be a whole range of goods excluded from GST. Whether it’s the BN or PR, the country has to go the GST way. That’s the simple truth.
Habhajan Singh is the executive editor of The Malaysian Reserve. Feedback:hab@ themalaysianreserve.com
This content is provided by FMT content partner The Malaysian Reserve.
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