The Deputy Finance Minister responded to mass street protests against the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Kuala Lumpur and Penang yesterday by saying that the tax would still come into effect regardless.
Deputy minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan described the May Day Anti-GST Rally event as being inappropriate, and said the organisers should have used a a better approach to voice their opinions.
“They should have submitted a memorandum on the matter, this (the protests) only serves to politicise all the good things that the government wants to implement”, The Malaysian Insider reported him as saying.
Ahmad said the GST was not a radically new concept; in fact, 90% of the world’s population lived in countries which had been imposing the GST.
The GST rates to be levied next year would also be among the lowest in the world, he said.
The GST will be implemented at a fixed rate of 6%, replacing the existing sales and services tax.
It will not be imposed on basic food items such as rice, sugar, salt, flour and cooking oil. Some of the other services exempted include government services such as issuance of passports and licences and healthcare services.
“The principle that everyone must understand is that tax processed from the people is returned to the people for their social and economic development.
“The government does not keep the money because we will return the money to the people through the annual budget,” he said.
See Also:
Thousands flood Dataran Merdeka to protest GST
Police won’t launch probe on anti-GST rally, despite declaring it illegal
