Najib intends to raise GST, claims DAP’s Kasturi

Batu Kawan MP says that Najib's promise in Sarawak not to raise GST shows BN's intentions to do so

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has every intention of raising the Goods and Services Tax, the DAP’s Kasthuri Patto said at the anti-GST rally here yesterday.

“Ini celaka keparat punya kerajaan (This damned government). They have every intention of raising the GST,” said Kasthuri before a raucous crowd of protesters.

Kasthuri, who is MP for Batu Kawan, said that a pledge on GST given yesterday by the Prime Minister, Najib Razak, showed the government’s intentions.

Speaking in Sarawak, Najib had promised that GST would not be raised. “There is no such plan to increase the GST in Sarawak or anywhere else in Malaysia, and as the finance minister, I give this commitment. We will maintain it at its current level,” he said, and said a claim by Sarawak DAP of a planned increase to 10 percent was a “big lie.”

However, Kasthuri said: “This means that they do intend to raise the GST. All the Barisan MPs, whether they are from Umno, MCA, or even from the Sarawak parties, all are in support of the GST.”

Kasthuri urged the 300-odd strong crowd at Jalan Sultan to “reject Barisan Nasional for good” at the next general election.

After her speech, the DAP-led crowd began marching to join other groups of protesters at Dataran Merdeka. Among those in the Jalan Sultan group were Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng and Damansara Utama assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin.