Najib: GST is a saviour, not a burden

28 Jan 2016 / 17:54 H.
    Najib: GST is a saviour, not a burden
    Najib Abdul Razak (C) officiates the 34th World Custom Day 2016 at Kompleks Kastam Diraja Malaysia Kelana Jaya, accompanied by (from L) Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah, Datuk Chua Te Yong and Director-General of the Royal Malaysian Customs Datuk Sri Khazali Ahmad. SUNPIX by ASYRAF RASID

PETALING JAYA: The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) should be seen as a saviour to the country instead of a burden, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said it was unimaginable how the drastic drop in oil price could have affected the country's economy if GST was not implemented.
"That is why the government's decision to introduce GST was timely. Imagine the sudden drop in oil price, which is now at US$30 (RM126.48) per barrel," he said.
"GST was not meant to become a burden to the rakyat, but it was a saviour for Malaysia," he said at the 34th World Customs Day celebration at Federal Territories Malaysian Royal Customs Department here today.
Among those present were Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah and Customs Director-General Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad.
Najib said with GST, Malaysia has managed to sustain its economy despite the current global economic uncertainties due to the drop in oil price.
"Even with the drop in oil price, Malaysia still managed to maintain its public servants, including those appointed under contract.
"We still managed to prepare scholarships and other financial aids such as 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M)," he added.
Najib said Malaysia's economy and financial status is in a very stable position, and one if its contributing factor was the implementation of GST.
He also said that since GST was implemented in April last year, the country has managed to collect more than RM51 billion from the tax, compared to RM37.2 billion it had collected in 2014.
"Such increase was extraordinary and much higher that our earlier expectation," he added..
Najib said it was not an easy task when the government decided to implement the GST system.
"No country in the world managed to escape criticism from the taxpayers when it decided to implement the tax," he added.
He also asked the Customs Department to continue with its task of tax collection and amend any loopholes or weaknesses in the system.

sentifi.com

thesundaily_my Sentifi Top 10 talked about stocks