'You are the one that makes consumers pay the service tax. Not the telcos. Even an idiot will not believe what you said.'

6% prepaid tax: 'Gov't unfairly shifting blame'

Ghkok: Telekom Malaysia is also charging the 6% service tax. So is TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad), Astro and toll roads, and your favourite ‘mamak' restaurants, fast food outlets and ‘kopi tiams' all over the country.

The tax goes to the government. The Finance Ministry decided on this tax. PM Najib Razak is the finance minister.

Now, the government wants telcos to absorb the 6% tax. Since food is an essential item, should it not be consistent and ask all food outlets to also absorb the 6% tax?

Road usage is also a basic need. So at the end of the day, it looks like the finance minister is imposing 6% corporate tax on all these companies? No? Why doesn't the finance minister just say so?

Justicee: The government imposed the 6% tax. It is unfair and malicious that the government wants the telcos to absorb it. If Najib feels the poor are being burdened, abolish the tax. The wrong signals are being sent to investors.

Kgen: Service tax is a tax on end users so the telcos have every right to pass it to consumers irrespective of how much profit they are making. Jumping on the telcos show poor governance. The proper move is to exempt prepaid cards from the tax.

TSC: This is one of the classic features of a weak leader. When facing opposition, he tries to wriggle out of the difficulty by shifting blame to others.

Onyourtoes: Labis MP Chua Tee Yong s/o Chua Soi Lek, corporate social responsibility should rightly come from the heart. It is the voluntary action of corporations wanting to do something good for the society. It is something discretional that the companies exercise by looking at their profitability, cash flows and other extenuating factors.

When corporate responsibility becomes mandatory (as in this case), it becomes taxation, do you get it? When the government asked the corporations absorb the service tax, it is six percent extra tax on these companies' revenue, mind you, not profit.

When companies make profits, the reasons could be many, not necessarily they are exploiting the customers, although I must say in Malaysia, it is rather rampant because our market is not sufficiently competitive.

The government can not exercise arbitrariness by making decisions as they like. The message shown to the business community is one of unpredictability and abuse of power. In actual fact, once the service tax is approved and implemented, the government has no authority to direct corporations to shoulder the burden.

If the government coerces and forces them to comply, then we are third world economy. Running a government is not based on feelings and hunches of some individuals in the fourth floor of the PM's Office.

Bersih 2.5: What about 6% service tax for post-paid users? Be fair to all the telecommunication users.

Siapa Saya: You are the one that makes consumers pay the service tax. Not the telcos (telecommunication companies). Even an idiot will not believe what you said.

Thousands throng national Hari Raya open house

Ferdtan: If it is people's national Hari Raya open house, and if they are keen to come, then why must the organiser hire 200 buses (at least RM20,000 in rental) to ferry them?

Compared this to the thousands of Bersih 2.0 marchers: they came willingly at their own cost, courting arrest by the police and no transport provided.

And they got more than they expected from our very own police; some were arrested, some beaten, others sprayed with chemical-laced water and shot at with tear gas.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: And with this ‘huge' turnout as confirmed by the Umno-BN aligned Penang chief police officer, is the Permatang Pauh seat going to fall to Umno in GE13?

Najib can dream on. Given that it was a Sunday and the Malaysian penchant for free food and entertainment, no wonder thousands turned up, but this does not mean that it is going to be translated into votes.

But it is rather odd that a "national" day Hari Raya open house in Penang could exclude the entire Penang state government and the sitting MP for Permatang Pauh. This is democracy ala Umno.

Ben-ghazi: The large crowd is proof enough that Anwar Ibrahim still has the support, and his supporters heeded his call to attend and enjoy the free food, which was paid for by taxpayers.

So, there is no surprise. Food should not be wasted, and since transport is also provided, what is there to prevent people from attending. Even Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng also attended. Does he support the PM? I doubt it.

Democracy: The large turnout is the result of the government's failure to control inflation and the removal of subsidies for the poor. So keep the food cost inflation up and remove more food subsidies and next open house will have a bigger crowd.

Try having an open house with no food served with only greetings from Umno VIPs and lots of propaganda talk and then see if there is large turnout. Only then BN can claim credit of support.

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