THE LIES AND SPINS BEHIND THE GST ISSUE

Raja Sara Petra

It irritates me when Malaysians post comments on subject matters they know very little about and act like they are experts on the subject. Take the Sharia Amendment Bill or RUU355 as one example. I have read so many comments from people, many of them non-Muslims, who say that once this bill is passed you will need four witnesses to prove rape.

This is a downright lie because rape, just like robbery and murder, do not come under Sharia laws, whether Hudud or otherwise. And by saying you need four witnesses to prove rape you are just making a mockery of Islam, which is what their intentions probably are: to mock and make fun of Islam.

Another victim of lies and spins is the GST. Today, KTemoc, a staunch DAP supporter, came out with a very fair and informative blog posting titled ‘Truer story of GST’ (READ HERE: http://ktemoc.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/truer-story-of-gst.html). This article actually explains the GST quite well so I really need not repeat what KTemoc said.

Nevertheless, the salient points in KTemoc’s article are:

1. The GST is not a new tax but replaces the now abolished S&S that used to be 5%-15%.

2.  Some goods are NOT subjected to GST: example most fresh food.

3. The 6% GST for Malaysia is actually quite low compared to other countries.

4. The GST is a consumption tax and not an income tax.

5.  There is no GST on raw or unprocessed foodstuff: so the poorer rakyat actually escape paying GST. (KTemoc then gives us a long list of goods and services that are not subject to GST, which is quite a long list indeed).

The best part of KTemoc’s blog posting is the part where he says that the Chinese have been complaining for so long that they are paying 90% of the income tax while the non-Chinese pay very little. And now that the GST spreads out the tax burden so that everyone ends up paying tax the Chinese also complain.