KUALA LUMPUR: The Opposition is not brave enough to abolish the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Prime Minister Najib Razak said today.
In his latest Twitter post, Najib said the Opposition – which had originally been against the GST’s imposition – actually plans to increase GST rates in the future, but they will not admit to it now, as they need to deceive the people to win the coming general election.
“The Opposition knew that the GST would replace the decline in oil revenue. Therefore, when they made the U-turn decision to maintain the tax, their voters (were) deceived.
“Hence, they (say they want to) hastily decrease the tax from six per cent to zero per cent. (This) does not make sense, because what’s the point of implementing the system if no tax is collected? Why don’t they just abolish the system?” he said.
The Prime Minister said the Opposition’s real plan is to dismiss half of the country’s civil servants, teachers, doctors, security personnel; and cancel schools construction, mosques, roads, hospitals, health services and basic public services, if they take over the government.
Najib also explained that since 2015’s collapse in oil prices, the country’s annual revenue has fallen to about RM40 billion.
With decreased revenue for the annual budget, he said the government is not able to pay the salaries of civil servants, build new schools and hospitals, or fund the security forces.
“Thankfully, the GST system was introduced, replacing the Sales and Services Tax (SST).
“Previously, there was tax, but it was not revealed by some traders, which allowed them to set the rates themselves – while the GST informs consumers clearly about the six per cent rate.
“The GST is more systematic, and over 140 countries in the world have implemented it. The system helps boost the country’s revenue, allowing for (continuous provision) of public services, and preventing our economy from collapsing due to low oil prices,” he added.