Parliamentary sittings will resume on March 15 to a throng of dissent as 2,000 people are expected to take to the streets to protest the impending Goods and Service Tax (GST).

NONE The group, which calls itself Protes, will gather at the Mahameru flyover near Parliament at 9am hoping to catch the attention of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who will arrive then.

The GST Bill, which raised its head as early as in 2004, will be tabled for a second reading during the sitting of the Dewan Rakyat.

Protes, a coalition made up of Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit), PAS, Suaram, PSM, DAP, PKR and the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI), will demonstrate for one hour.

"We will disperse at 10am, and members of Parliament (who are part of the protest group) will enter Parliament at 10am to debate on the issue.

"Everything is set and we are just waiting to gather," said Protes organiser Hatta Ramli, when contacted today.

No police permit

A police permit has not been obtained for the protest, nor have the police been informed.

hatta ramli 070708 When queried, Hatta (right ), who is also the Kuala Krai PAS MP said: "(The protest) is not a secret, they should already know."

The demonstration is part of efforts mounted by Protes to bring the contentious issue to the public's attention.

Members of the coalition have been actively participating in forums and public education campaigns in the past months, including yesterday's multi-stakeholder discussion by the Selangor Government.

Among others, the group, which joins Pakatan Rakyat in the chorus against GST, contends that the tax will be burden the poor, and will add up to RM550 to the average Malaysian worker's expenditure.

Government's model too simplistic

When the bill was tabled in December, however, second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said that the average household should expect savings ranging between RM14.52 to RM346.92 per year.

The discrepancy, said the Protes cohort , is because the government's model is too simplistic, and does not account for profiteering which may occur even after the sales and service tax (SST) is cancelled.

The government argues that prices will drop because the GST rate of 4 percent is lower than the current sales and service tax of 10 and 5 percent.

The same argument is also used by the government to garner support from the business community, but Protes believes that significant compliance costs will hurt small to medium enterprises.

The dissenting group also believes that GST is not necessary and that the people should not pay for the government's spendthrift habits.

So far, the hue and cry appear to have fallen on deaf ears, with Ahmad Husni yesterday dismissing speculation that the GST implementation will be called off.

If the bill is passed, the government will have 18 months to implement the new tax.

The upcoming sitting will also see proposed crucial amendments to high-profile laws.

najib announce gdp 240210 02 Among the key highlights are the amendments to the 50-year-old Internal Security Act (ISA), the second-reading of the Witness Protection Bill which are supposedly linked to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's government transformation plan (GTP).

Review of the controversial ISA were among the pledges made by Najib ( right ) when he took office last year, however, despite public outcry for the repeal of the stringent law, the Home Ministry has done little so far.

Meanwhile, the Witness Protection Bill , which was on hold since 2008, is also expected to be read for the second time.

Both laws are expected to draw criticism from members of the opposition and activists alike as the review of both long-standing issues are only being highlighted this time around.

Also making a debut is the BN Backbenchers Club's (BNBBC) proposal for the abolition of the quorum and bloc voting in the House after BN narrowly approved the Budget 2010 with 66 votes at its third reading last December.

The removal of the quorum of 26, which was half of the 52 seats when Parliament began in 1955, is part of the BNBBC's recommendations on parliamentary law reforms.

The ruling coalition at present controls 137 seats out of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

 

Police warn against participating in Parliament demo