Ahmad: Hostility to GST due to ignorance
Published: May 15, 2014 3:40 AM | Updated: May 15, 2014 7:04 AM
The goods and services tax (GST) and hudud are in the same boat - people just need to learn about them to accept them, deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan said at a GST forum in Kuala Lumpur today.
The goods and services tax (GST) and hudud are in the same boat - people just need to learn about them to accept them, deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan said at a GST forum in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said the government will press on with a RM250 million budget to educate and facilitate GST despite protests, as it was an idea that has not gone away since 1983.
“Not many understand the GST and if you don't understand, don't march on the streets... don't protest and say GST is no good,” Ahmad told reporters.
He pointed that hudud has a 20-year history but is still coloured with controversy.
"If you just read a book, in one day, you can understand hudud. The same with GST - in an hour you can understand it. But if you don't get the proper information, even until 2020, you won't understand GST."
Ahmad recommended that people go to the two official government websites to understand GST and not believe the lies about the new tax to be implemented from April 1 next year.
On Labour Day this year, some 50,000 Malaysians surrounded Dataran Merdeka and called on the government to abolish the GST.
Many of hem were PAS supporters from across the country, some of whom also backed the implementation of hudud for PAS-ruled Kelantan.
Ahmad said that unlike hudud, the GST has already been passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara. There would be no turning back now, only to get the people educated.
"A total of 160 countries worldwide have GST, so surely their finance ministries are not ignorant too? Their economies didn't collapse (after GST)," he said.
Ahmad said Malaysian officers first visited South Korea in 1983 to learn about the tax, and it was mooted for Malaysia back in 1992, when Daim Zainuddin was the finance minister.
The GST, he said, will help make Malaysia's economy more open and competitive.
"There have been a multitude of free trade agreements across the globe, bringing down the traditional walls of tariffs and import duties.
"In order to remain competitive, we have followed suit, but the resultant loss of revenue to our Treasury needs to be replenished. This is where GST is so imperative to our economy," Ahmad, who is the MP for Pontian, added.
He said the government will press on with a RM250 million budget to educate and facilitate GST despite protests, as it was an idea that has not gone away since 1983.
“Not many understand the GST and if you don't understand, don't march on the streets... don't protest and say GST is no good,” Ahmad told reporters.He pointed that hudud has a 20-year history but is still coloured with controversy.
"If you just read a book, in one day, you can understand hudud. The same with GST - in an hour you can understand it. But if you don't get the proper information, even until 2020, you won't understand GST."
Ahmad recommended that people go to the two official government websites to understand GST and not believe the lies about the new tax to be implemented from April 1 next year.
On Labour Day this year, some 50,000 Malaysians surrounded Dataran Merdeka and called on the government to abolish the GST.Many of hem were PAS supporters from across the country, some of whom also backed the implementation of hudud for PAS-ruled Kelantan.
Ahmad said that unlike hudud, the GST has already been passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara. There would be no turning back now, only to get the people educated.
"A total of 160 countries worldwide have GST, so surely their finance ministries are not ignorant too? Their economies didn't collapse (after GST)," he said.
Ahmad said Malaysian officers first visited South Korea in 1983 to learn about the tax, and it was mooted for Malaysia back in 1992, when Daim Zainuddin was the finance minister.
The GST, he said, will help make Malaysia's economy more open and competitive.
"There have been a multitude of free trade agreements across the globe, bringing down the traditional walls of tariffs and import duties.
"In order to remain competitive, we have followed suit, but the resultant loss of revenue to our Treasury needs to be replenished. This is where GST is so imperative to our economy," Ahmad, who is the MP for Pontian, added.
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