Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi voiced his support for MCA president Wee Ka Siong’s stand for the government to exempt electricity bills from the two percent hike in the service tax.
“I hope there is good news for the public either today or tomorrow,” he said in a Facebook post.
“Otherwise, restore the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Malu apa Bossku,” he added with a pinch of sarcasm about the tax introduced during the Najib Abdul Razak administration, which the Pakatan Harapan government scrapped in 2018.
In 2021, before his imprisonment, Najib told Parliament that the then-Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration should reintroduce the GST after Malaysia recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The six percent GST rate covers a broader range of goods and services than the current service tax, though some essentials like fresh food and electricity are zero-rated.
Wee had called for electricity to be exempted from the services tax hike, arguing that it is an essential service like water.
This was in response to the Finance Ministry saying that the six percent service tax imposed on domestic electricity usage beyond the first 600kWh per billing cycle is increased to eight percent starting yesterday.
In a TikTok video later, the MCA claimed the increased taxes could have knock-on effects that increase the prices of goods and subsequently affect low and middle-income earners.
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