PR to object if GST is included in Budget 2014

Posted on October 21, 2013, Monday

KOTA KINABALU: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Sabah will object to the implementation of the Goods Service Tax (GST) in the country.

According to the state opposition chief, Datuk Seri Panglima Lajim Ukin, the opposition elected representatives from Sabah will be making their objections known in parliamentary and state assembly sittings.

Lajim said the implementation of the GST could be included in the national 2014 budget that will be tabled by Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on October 25.

“If it is in the budget, PR will strongly object to it. The reason it should not be implemented is that Malaysia is not a developed country and the rakyat are not earning a high income. So the GST should not be used as a source of income by the government.

“Sabah’s DAP chief cum Kota Kinabalu member of parliament Jimmy Wong will be tabling our objection in Parliament and I am sure that the other opposition MPs will be doing the same. At the state level, we, the elected representatives, will also object if the GST is included in the state budget.

“Although it is my belief that the State Assembly and Parliament can over-rule the objections, we will still maintain our stand and go all out to oppose the implementation of the GST in Malaysia,” Lajim said.

When asked what he hoped would be included in the national budget, the Sabah PKR chief said PR wants to see more allocation for sectors like education, security and rural infrastructure.

“In short, we want Barisan Nasional (BN) to fulfill its election manifesto tabled for the 13th general election. We want to see the implementation of development projects announced by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister like the Pan Borneo highway, the Labuan bridge, the Tuaran-Kudat coastal highway and the water supply remedial plans for Sabah.

“We also want to see the government fulfill its promise to distribute the BR1M2 of RM1,200 to qualified Malaysians. We do not care about the mechanism but we want to make sure that BN honours its promise of the RM1,200 BR1M payout as the money belongs to the people and not to BN.

“All these promises must be fulfilled otherwise it will all just remain promises that would be repeated in the 14th general election,” he stressed.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/10/21/pr-to-object-if-gst-is-included-in-budget-2014/#ixzz2iKcAqAHi