Public wants PM to tackle various issues for Budget 2017

PETALING JAYA: Thousands of Malaysians want Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak (pix) to tackle issues involving employment, taxes, culture and environment when addressing Parliament during the tabling of Budget 2017 next month.
On Sept 5, Najib invited members of the public to contribute ideas in the preparation of the 2017 Budget on https://bajet2017.najibrazak.com and it ended today.
The most popular suggestion was the call for contract staff in the civil service to be absorbed and given permanent employment.
For instance, Nieyla Nadia suggested that contract staff be absorbed into the civil service after serving a minimum period of five years.
"To deal with the rising costs of living, at least a one-month bonus would be very useful,” posted Scharina Sharifin.
On matters regarding taxes, Sim Teong Lee suggested that the government could look into reducing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from the present 6% to 3% in order to minimise the impact on law abiding businessmen and end users.
"At the same time, the current threshold of RM500,000 can also be reduced to RM250,000, so that there will be no more excuses for non-GST registration, as businesses with annual turnover of RM250,000 will be considered as small scaled," he posted.
On issues involving culture, Alex Ong suggested that the Finance Ministry should support performing arts education and promotion via its corporate social responsibility.
"Tax rebates application (for performing arts) should be simplified and rapidly approved without too much constraints and lengthy processes," he posted.
And on the environment, Lily Teo mooted that import taxes for green, hybrid and electric cars be reduced to encourage more people to buy such vehicles to reduce carbon footprints and preserve the environment.
Najib is expected to table Budget 2017 on Oct 21.