LOWER goods and services tax, followed by increased wages, tops the list of what Malaysians want for Budget 2018.

With fewer than six days to go, an online poll at bajet2018.najibrazak.com has received about 7,500 comments, most of which revolve around the high cost of living.  

The poll is set up for Malaysians to give their feedback and suggestions in 14 areas, including cost of living, housing and urban living, transport and infrastructure, healthcare, education, employment, taxation business and finance, digital economy, and rural development.

“A lot of my friends support the opposition because they have said they will abolish the GST under their governance,” respondent Lim Yee Yean said.

“However, we are aware that by abolishing the GST, it will reduce the nation’s income. So, we are only suggesting that it be reduced to 4%,” she said, adding that the move would surely please many voters.

Haslina also urged Prime Minister Najib Razak to reduce the GST, which she said would reduce the burden on the people struggling to cope with the high cost of living.

“Assalamualaikum YB Datuk Seri Najib Razak, I’m requesting for the GST to be lowered to lessen the burden of all Malaysians,” she said.

Accounting consultant Eddie Leng, 42, said that if the government would not reduce the GST, then it should lower personal taxes.

“When Singapore implemented the GST, they reduced the personal tax. So, why can’t we do it here? If they had managed the country’s resources better in the first place, we wouldn’t need the GST.”

Leng also said that the government should be spending its money on welfare programmes to aid the less fortunate, and that it should stop giving out the one-off BR1M payments.

“They should be investing in workshops and courses for the people to learn skills so that they can better improve themselves,” he said.

A comment that received more than 1,000 likes was posted by  Ravidasan, who asked for higher allowances for civil servants.

“YAB Dato Seri, many have acknowledged that the cost of living has increased.

“Therefore, I urge for an increase in allowances for civil servants to bear these costs,” he said.

Richard Samie wanted a 4% salary increase for civil servants, in line with the current inflation rate, and and a RM100 increase in housing allowance.

“Rental and the price of a house is expensive. An increase in the housing allowance will lessen the burden of civil servants.

“When there is an increase in wages, it also heightens the people’s purchasing power.

“Increase in expenditure (by the people) would then generate more income for the economy,” he said.

A media practitioner who wanted to be known as Ng said the government should provide more allocations for the M40, the 40% category of people in the middle class earning between RM3,860 and RM8,319 a month.

“The cost of living has been rising for as long as I can remember. This is because the inflation rates have been rising and it’s difficult to survive on a fresh graduate’s salary who gets between RM2,500 and RM3,500,” she said.

“Our economy might be growing, but so are the prices of goods and services, while my salary remains stagnant,” she said. – September 13, 2017.