PAS tells Govt to cut wastage before rolling out GST

Published: Monday October 28, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM 

Updated: Monday October 28, 2013 MYT 10:53:53 AM

PETALING JAYA: The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) should be postponed until the Government fixes the leakages highlighted in the Auditor-General’s Report, said PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu.

He said the Government should instead focus on stopping wastage and ensuring that its allocations were used appropriately.

Also, he said, the rakyat was currently unprepared for the implementation of the GST.

“We oppose the introduction of the tax because the Government has not proven that it can manage its finances properly, as has been shown by the Auditor-General,” he said.

“If all that money was used properly, the Government would not need to introduce the GST.”

There has been a call for more basic items to be exempted from the GST so that the tax, which will kick-in in April 2015 will not burden the poor.

But Mat Sabu, as he is also known as, said the measure was unnecessary because the GST should not be introduced in the first place.

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the GST was being introduced as a means for the Government to increase its revenue.

“It gets about RM10bil to RM12bil every year from the Sales and Services Tax now, but with the GST it will gain more,” he said.

Mahfuz, who is also the Pokok Sena MP, said the Government also needs to put in measures that will ensure the prices of items will not spike dramatically after April 2015.

He said the move would also help assure the people that the GST would not be a burden.

The GST has been set at 6%, which the Government has highlighted as being lower than that in neighbouring countries.

It will not be imposed on basic necessities such as rice, cooking oil, sugar, salt, piped water supply, and the first 200 units of electricity per month for domestic consumers.