YOURSAY | ‘And how come there is no mention that people have to pay GST as a result of an incompetent government?’

New Bank Negara governor views GST as bold move

Jaycee: So, the new Bank Negara Malaysia governor Muhammad Ibrahim is saying that the goods and services tax (GST) is good for the people? And how come there is no mention that the people have to pay GST as a result of an incompetent government?

How is it there is no mention that taxpayers and generations to follow after that will have to pay for the black hole created by 1MDB? Sounds like the new Bank Negara governor is saying the right things to please the ruling party. May God save Malaysia.

Speaking Sense: The issue is not whether GST is good or bad. The issue is it would not have been necessary for the country to have to be 'saved' by GST if there had been no 1MDB, and if this government had not wasted so much money on useless projects, feel good but unproductive handouts, unbelievable corruption, and porous contracts and kickbacks and so on.

The purpose of any tax is not to save a country from financial ruin - no good government would ever need to be saved from financial ruin unless there is an unexpected worldwide depression.

Every tax, including GST, should be just part of an overall economic plan to progress the country economically in an equitable and socially responsible manner. Prime Minister Najib Razak's comments show he just doesn't understand what it means to be a competent finance minister, and the PM should sack him immediately.

Oxymoronictendencies: So Najib has now become the voice of Bank Negara? Yet another supposedly independent institution bites the dust and becomes yet another tool in Najib's arsenal of weapons to destroy Malaysian democracy altogether.

As the country moves closer to dictatorship, do the rakyat care? This one does, but seems far too few others care. "Give me RM30 and leave me alone if you want my vote" seems to be the general attitude.

Malaysia gets what it deserves; and clearly the country is far from advanced and educated enough for democracy. So let's have a benevolent dictator. But please, not a thief and a liar.

Dont Just Talk: The 6 percent GST might not even be necessary, if our country's resources are properly managed, with less abuse of power and corruption by our top political leaders. When the top is crooked and fails to lead by example, the bottom will not be straight as shown by the loss of RM107 million from the Youth and Sports Ministry.

The missing RM14 billion is yet another questionable example of poor leadership by example, when IPIC claimed that US$3.5 billion which was due to them was paid to Aabar BVI, an unrelated entity to the company.

Malaysians hope the new governor Muhammad will have the strength and courage to say "No" when confronted with another 1MDB financial scandal, failing which, the 6 percent GST might not be enough to cover the deep, dark pit named 'corruption' under Covert Operation Code Name '681 American Pies'.

Eagle: I would like to know the difference in revenue collected when the government changed from the Sales and Service Tax (SST) to GST. Next is whether the government has calculated the impact of GST on the prices of goods? Please don't give answers like "small increase". Give us the percentages.

Alicescat: I really don't mind if money collected from GST is used to improve our lot. What irks me and many others is the knowledge that most of the money collected may and will end up in many someones’ pockets through corruption, mismanagement and the tidak apa (couldn’t care less) attitude of Putrajaya.

Our civil service is so bloated we have to spend more on salaries for this sector than any other country. Worse, we are not spending enough on sectors that matter like education. Anyway, nothing will change in this country. Sigh.

Just A Malaysian: GST as a taxing tool is neither good nor bad. It is just what it is, a way of taxation.

But with so much leakages in government spending, the first option is to cut wastage, and the last and final option is to implement GST. This is what a rational and rakyat centric government would do.

To add taxes to burden the rakyat and to mismanage 1MBD, causing the ringgit to fall, is a double whammy for the rakyat.

Goldee: The truth is, if we were without GST (which is the peoples' money) we would have ended up like Greece and gone bankrupt because of the hundreds of billions of ringgit lost on 1MDB.

The country was spared at the expense of the taxpayers.

BohChaiSee: It's okay for you, Muhammad, but for us citizens the 'small' increase of goods prices because of the GST is a big issue. I guess we have to be content with eating croissants.

Bob The Builder: The problem is GST is being used to pay off government debts, in particular those of 1MDB’s, on which the government can't even pay the interest let alone the principal sums.

If a debt is an explainable debt, then it is okay, but in 1MDB’s case Najib can't even explain the huge debt incurred, which leads us to believe that it was/is a clear corruption within the company that Najib is the advisory board chairperson.

Oscar Kilo: GST is not a bad thing. In fact, it is good because everyone pays GST, unlike income taxes that are paid by only a minority of the working population.

The actual problem is how the government spends the tax money. No government is perfect, but for argument's sake, let us make some comparisons. In Australia, GST is 10 percent but the government provides world-class services, with integrity and transparency.

Can't say the same for Malaysia. Malaysia has petroleum, timber, palm oil, natural resources, smart people, etc. Where has all the money gone?

LKY: 1MDB accumulated RM50 billion in debts for buying soon-to-be-expired power plants and some oil fields that are nonexistent. They can't even IPO the power plants. It would have been better off for the government to sell the Sungai Besi land outright rather than to let 1MDB sell it off.

And here you have the guy talking about Greece and GST.

Abc2: We are going down the Greece path to disaster. Introducing GST to strengthen the tax collection is one thing, but to lose out over a mediocre project like 1MDB is another. I think the PM should wake up and face reality.

Ronald: What do you expect the new Bank Negara governor to say? “No way” to GST? It’s too late to do anything now.

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