Many hoping for good news to address rising cost of living in Johor

Published: Thursday October 24, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM 

Updated: Thursday October 24, 2013 MYT 9:49:59 AM

JOHOR BARU: Locals here are keeping their fingers crossed that the Government will have good news to address the rising cost of living in the state.

Civil servant Rohizai Zainal, 30, is hoping for a pay rise for government servants to help them face this problem.

“I will be glued to the TV hoping to hear some good news this Friday (tomorrow) during the Prime Minister’s Budget 2014 announcement,” he said.

Insurance agent Ng Ting Yao, 26, hopes to see more incentives for first-time homebuyers.

“A normal two-storey terrace house costs more than RM400,000, which is too high for young working adults like me,” he said.

Teacher A. Mary, 51, echoed this sentiment, saying prices for houses in both urban and rural areas were starting to take a toll on homebuyers.

Technician Gan Foo Seng, 35, hopes that the Government would look into subsidising petrol prices instead of increasing it.

“The possible implementation of goods and services tax is also a worrying issue.”

Housewife K. Rathina, 45, wants higher tax returns for people with children who have serious illnesses or are continuing their studies in higher education institutions.

Businessman Robert Ng, 51, said that with the minimum wage for foreign workers to be implemented next year, a tax reduction will definitely help local companies to survive.

University undergraduate Tajrin Md Zabri, 21, wants more government funding for the science and technology faculties at local universities as students are facing difficulties conducting research studies without proper resources.

Aminuddin Mohsin, 28, a social media handler for a food and beverage company, hopes the Government will be shrewd with the money and distribute it properly to sectors that will keep the country afloat.

Meanwhile, in Kuala Lumpur, Pakatan Rakyat said the goods and services tax should not be implemented unless the minimum national monthly household income was at least RM4,000 per household.

Wong Chen, who is PKR’s trade and investment chairman, said this was necessary to absorb shocks to the people’s purchasing power if GST is implemented, especially among the low and middle income groups.