PAKATAN Harapan government’s decision to abolish the goods and services tax (GST) is the reason for why the current government is struggling to provide food subsidies, Najib Razak said today.

The former prime minister, who introduced GST under his Barisan Nasional administration, said if the tax scheme had not been abolished, the government would be able to use RM30 billion revenue from the tax to provide subsidies.

This would have allowed the government to stabilise food prices, he added.

Najib also said he had predicted the issue of rising food prices since last year and had given various suggestions in an effort to overcome the crisis.

“I have been posting on this issue since last year. I have long predicted that the cost of food items will go up and suggested some steps that could be taken.

“We have to understand the cause of our reduced capacity. This is because the PH government had abolished GST.

“Otherwise, we have more than RM30 billion a year that could be used to subsidise food items,” he told the media after attending the Umno Hari Raya Aidilfitri ceremony in Marang, Terengganu today.

He was commenting on the issue of rising food prices and the lack of chicken supply in the country.

The country’s dependence on food imports contributed to rising food prices, coupled with supply chain disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The drop in the value of the ringgit had also made imported items more expensive.

Despite importing 60% of its food needs, Malaysia produces about 98.2% of poultry products for the domestic market.

Najib said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob must implement all measures to stabilise food prices.

The government on Monday announced that it would halt poultry exports from June 1 as a short -term measure to stabilise supply.

Ismail also announced the abolition of chicken APs, aimed at increasing the opportunities for the involvement of importers to provide more sources of supply.

The government has also decided to increase and recognise slaughterhouses abroad to increase the production of poultry supplies. – May 28, 2022.