Unlike in Singapore, the Malaysian government's plan to implement Goods and Services Tax is regressive as the majority of Malaysians already found it burdensome to make ends meet, and the only ones to benefit would be the corporate fat cats and business cronies of the political elite, an Opposition leader said on Monday.

"We understand the rationale for GST is to widen and improve the existing tax base. However, the current weak tax base is not a matter of tax evasion per se but a reflection of the poor household earnings of the majority of Malaysians. The majority of Malaysians simply do not have sufficient income to pay income tax," Wong Chen, the newly-elected PKR MP for Kelana Jaya, told a press conference on Monday.

Wong took to task Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the Finance Minister, for trying to push through an "exorbitantly high" 7% GST rate. He pointed to the Singapore example that officials in the Malaysian Finance Ministry such as Minister in the PM's Office Idris Jala have alluded to.

"We are all very alarmed at 7%. In Singapore they started at 3% and kept it for 9 years before they raised it to 4%. Why didn't Idris Jala mention this when he so freely used Singapore as a model country for Malaysia to follow in the GST issue," said Wong Chen

"The PKR stand is that - show what have you done to reduce mega projects and what have you done to reduce corruption in the country. If you have done so, you are entitled to consider introducing GST but start at a very low level and not start off at 7%."

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Malaysia Chronicle