A preliminary victory was declared today by the Protes coalition of activist groups and opposition parties against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, after a minister declared that the planned second reading of the bill in Parliament had been put off.

Dr Hatta Ramli, who chairs the coalition, said it was the Protes-led campaign against the GST that caused the BN-led government to delay the reading until it obtains "more opinions" and "feedback" on the matter.

Hatta said,"I would guess it was pressure from the rakyat, the opposition parties and NGOs, to the effect that the government (felt it) will not push the law through Parliament (at this time).

"We have a very contentious bill. While we think many people do not yet understand it, people who do (understand the GST bill) do not agree with it.

"We will welcome the decision not to table the bill for its second reading this (parliamentary) session. Hopefully, the GST will be scrapped altogether," he told Malaysiakini when contacted.

jim palestine rally 15102004 hatta ramli On the demonstration against the GST bill that Protes had planned for Monday to coincide with the reconvening of Parliament, Hatta ( centre left )said the leaders of the coalition had yet to come to a decision.

He added that there was still the possibility of the event going ahead as planned rather than being scrapped on account of the announcement by Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah today that the planned second reading of the GST bill had been delayed.

Protes leaders will discuss the issue before announcing their decision on Monday's gathering, said Hatta.

"I would attribute the decision announced today to the fear that people will take their opposition to the GST to the streets. Perhaps by demonstrating against it, the GST may be scrapped altogether," he added hopefully.

"We'll discuss it among ourselves. There could be a decision either by this evening or tomorrow," said Hatta, who is also PAS treasurer-general.

Bernama reported today that Husni said: "It (the GST) will not be tabled for second reading in the March/April session (of Parliament) because we need more time to engage with the public."

The bill was first tabled in Parliament last December.

On when the bill would be tabled, Husni said: "It will depend on our engagement with the public and how the rakyat perceives the implementation of GST. So, we do not want to put a time-frame on that."