MALAYSIA was able to develop rapidly and fund mega projects without the benefit of the goods and services tax (GST) in the past, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The Pakatan Harapan chairman said the GST continued to be unnecessary today as without it the current government was still collecting four times as much revenue as the government of his time.
“The government claims it doesn’t have enough money and that’s why it needs to collect GST from everyone. This has caused the cost of living to go up and shops to close.
“Why is the government still complaining that it doesn’t have enough money to manage the country?” said Dr Mahathir at a ceramah attended by about 1,000 Felda settlers at Gunung Besout 1, Tanjung Malim, last night.
Dr Mahathir was prime minister from 1981 to 2003. The GST was introduced in April 2015.
Without the GST, he said, Malaysia was able to fund large-scale infrastructure projects, including the North-South Expressway, Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang and the Penang Bridge, as well as upgrade Port Klang.
“We don’t promise what we cannot fulfil. We will abolish the GST.
“(Prime Minister) Najib Razak said the government wouldn’t have money without GST, (but) before this, without the GST, our country developed rapidly.”
PH deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who spoke earlier, said PH would be able to write-off the settlers’ debts to Felda by plugging the leakages caused by corruption.
He reminded the settlers that the Najib administration was still implicated in several corruption scandals, including one involving Felda.
PH president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail promised the settlers the opposition coalition would reform Felda.
The PH leaders were at the BN fortress to win over the Malays, whose vote is crucial if the opposition is to win Tanjung Malim for the first time, at the general election.
To win the constituency, they need to convince at least 5% of Malay voters in Tanjung Malim to switch over from Barisan Nasional. – March 17, 2018.
Comments
Posted 6 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply
lets have a level playing field we also dont need NEP which is no longer new and past its expiry date
when the government expands its tax base. the available disposable income contracts and consequently investment drops.
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