Mobile Prepaid Service Tax

Once upon a time, no one used mobile phones. People communicated using landlines in their homes and offices. They made plans and kept them, instead of cancelling at the last minute.

And when they made plans, it was specific - "meet you at the front entrance of Central Market, the entrance in front of the car park" and if one party was late, they waited.

Things are different now. The pace of life is faster. The population is bigger. People travel further.

And so they need to communicate during the times between their homes and offices.

Very few people use prepaid service. Most prefer to use postpaid which comes with data roaming etc all thrown in.

The prepaid service was meant to be the cheapest, the most basic mobile service.

But thanks to the BN government, the service tax of 6% has been implemented, which is going to add to the burden of many retirees, not the yuppies.

This comes in the wake of Rosmah's diamond ring which she claims was purchased using money that she saved up since her youth.

The email showing the photos of Rosmah's ring and the Custom's records made the rounds twice in my office! Even my yuppie colleagues are unhappy about their hard-earned tax money being used by those in power.

Even before that, when the fuel subsidy was reduced and people had to pay high prices for petrol, the response from the prime minister was: Learn to tighten your belts!

Tighten??? The only way the average Malaysian could tighten his belt is if he wore an ular sawa (python) around his waist.

I doubt many people have forgotten the attitude of the ruling coalition to the needs of the average joe. Barisan Nasional had best rethink its ways of governing, not of cheating during elections!