People flock to shopping malls as GST drops to zero

KUALA LUMPUR: With the Goods and Services Tax zero-rated beginning today, many people in the city began flocking to malls to shop for products, mainly in preparation for Aidilfitri.
Bernama found several clothing boutiques and other outlets packed with people shopping for bargains among the goods displayed below signs showing the GST at zero percent.
An officer with a private firm, Mazlina Yusof, 29, said she had taken leave today to shop for Aidilfitri with members of her family.
"Besides the zero-rated GST, many shops are offering discounts as well. We did not want to risk getting caught in the anticipated weekend crowd at the malls," she told Bernama.
Housewife A'abayiah Yusof, 65, said there was not much of a difference between the prices before and after GST was zero-rated but traders had taken advantage of the situation to offer Aidilfitri promotions.
A civil servant, Siti Nor Aini Hamidon, 32, said her family spent up to RM5,000 to buy household necessities at a mall in view of Aidilfitri.
"This is the first time that I have spent so much money here. The goods are much cheaper with the zero-rated GST. For me, the GST is not a burden but the goods are cheaper without the GST and one can buy goods in bigger quantities," she said.
IKEA Cheras Human Resource assistant manager Nur Azie Yanti said the number of visitors to the store had increased.
"Some shoppers had come much earlier than the opening time of 9.30am and we expect more people to come at night," Nur Azie said, adding that the store would open more counters to cater to the bigger crowd.
A manager of a store for kitchen appliances at KLCC, who declined to be named, said trade enforcement officers called the store at 10am to check on the prices of goods.
"The prices of essential goods have been reduced. It will take a day or two to complete affixing the lower prices on the kitchen appliances," she said.
Several shops have yet to switch to the zero-rated GST.
Grocer Chong Sim Huat, 56, said as the cash register was caliberated to 6% GST, he had to write the receipts by hand for customers.
"We are waiting for the new cash register to arrive this evening. Although it is a tedious job of writing the receipts by hand, we have no choice because of the delay in the arrival of the new cash register," he said.
GST was imposed on April 1, 2015, at the rate of 6%. On May 16, the new Pakatan Harapan government said GST would be zero-rated on June 1 and abolished in September to make way for the resumption of the Sales and Service Tax (SST). — Bernama