PRIME Minister Najib Razak has defended the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST), saying “it would have been irresponsible” not to have done so.

He said the opposition’s plan to get rid of GST “deceived the people” and was based on “fantasy economics”.

“We knew it (introducing GST) wouldn’t be popular. It would have been easier not to do it, as it can be deemed a disruption,” he said in his address when opening the World Islamic Economic Forum, themed “Disruptive change: Impact and challenges”, in Kuching this morning.

The prime minister said the government must be responsive to “disruptive changes”, which meant that there were times it would have to “instigate”, such as by implementing GST.

“In the 21st century, governments and countries cannot continue doing things the old way.

“Responsible governments must change their policies, as circumstances change, for the wellbeing of the people.”

Najib said if Malaysia did not change its policies, the nation would lose its competitive edge and get overtaken by other countries.

“We cannot, and must not, allow that. We knew that if we were to achieve our goal of becoming a high-income nation by 2020, we had to make bold changes.”

That, he said, was “true leadership”.

“It wasn’t just because we needed to widen the tax base, which is one reason why more than 160 countries around the world have a form of GST, but it was also because of the plunge in oil prices. GST saved us.”

He added that Malaysia would revamp its education system to prepare young people for a rapidly changing world.

“We must equip young people with higher-order thinking skills so that they are open-minded, creative, innovative and ready to adapt to jobs that don’t even exist yet.”

The prime minister said the revamp would be a “huge challenge”.

“We must not be complacent. We have some way to go.

“The crux is the right kind of education, and we must never lose sight of the need to adequately prepare our youth for a world that is transforming faster than we could have ever imagined.”

The forum sees the attendance of 2,476 participants from 75 countries. Among the heads of government attending the forum are those from Morocco, Comoros and the Republic of Tatarstan. – November 21, 2017.