Putrajaya told to waive GST for non-government aided schools

The entrance to the St Xavier Primary School in Penang. – Pic courtesy of elvt.blogspot.com, May 15, 2015.

Putrajaya has been urged to waive the goods and services tax (GST) imposed on the utility bills of non-government aided schools such as Christian mission schools.

Dr Francis Loh, the chairman of Penang's St Xavier's Primary School, said the Malaysian Christian Education Council previously requested for the schools' utility bills to be absorbed by the government.

Now the finances of schools like his would have to be further stretched because of the 6% GST.

"Unlike the sekolah kebangsaan (national-type schools), mission schools have to pay their own utility bills. For St Xavier's, our monthly electricity bill is between RM5,000 to RM6,000.

"There is not much we can do to get around cutting our power usage. It is a real problem. Next month, we will have to pay our TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad) bill of RM14,000," he told a press conference today at the Penang legislative assembly building.

Loh said the federal government should consider waiving the GST on all non-national type schools.

Earlier, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng presented a cheque of RM35,000 to the St Xavier's primary school to upgrade its computer lab for the benefit of 600 pupils.

Loh said the last time the lab was upgraded was 10 years ago, so the money would be spent on new computers for the pupils.

- TMI