BN gives PH a year to prove SST will reduce prices

Opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says only 'backward' countries use the SST.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says prices have yet to go down even though the GST was zero-rated last month. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) is giving the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government a year to prove that the prices of goods will go down after the re-introduction of the sales and services tax (SST).

The SST, which replaces the goods and services tax (GST) introduced by the BN administration in 2015, will come into effect on Sept 1.

“We will see if the cost of living and the prices of goods goes down with the implementation of the SST,” opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters outside the Dewan Rakyat today.

This came after Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng hit out at Umno’s criticism of the SST earlier today.

Lim also acknowledged that the GST which PH had strongly opposed in the past was more transparent than the SST. However, he added that the two systems had a different impact on the public, with the GST putting a greater burden on the people.

Zahid, who is also Umno president, said only “backward” countries implemented the SST.

“I read analyses by economists, and I have compared it to the 160 countries that implemented the GST. Only underdeveloped countries have the SST.”

He added that prices of goods had yet to go down, even after the GST was zero-rated. This included fuel prices which PH had promised to reduce, he said.

In May, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said the prices of goods would not go down immediately, even after the GST was zero-rated.

Critics of the consumption tax said it had led to inflection and higher prices. -FMT