your say 'Umno used to be fearless tigers and bulldoze down any unsanctioned street protests against 'Umno policies', whether they are peaceful or not. Wonder what has has caused Umno's change of heart in handling demonstrations of late.'

Habib Rak: We have about 27 million people in Malaysia of which I think around 11 million are the working population. Of this 11 million, only about four million or less are taxpaying citizens. Of the four million or less citizens, the majority are non-Malays.

If the GST was introduced, the vast majority of non-taxpayers today will have to pay tax. Imagine the little 12-year-old boy in a kampung with no shoes on goes to a small hut shop to buy some snacks and he has to pay GST.

Technically, even if you get a haircut from a barber under a tree, you have to pay GST. That is the law that is planned to be introduced. This Umno/BN government don't have any clue about the life of average people.

Doc: Prime Minister Najib Razak seems petrified at the hint of any non-Umno parties protesting in the open of late. When the Catholics decided to protest against Al-Islam's article and attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail's lackadaisical approach to the perpetrators from that magazine last week, almost immediately Umno's Al-Islam apologised .

After Protes announced that it was planning an anti-GST rally outside Parliament today, the second reading of the GST bill was postponed. Umno used to be fearless tigers and bulldoze down any unsanctioned street protests against Umno policies, whether they are peaceful or not.

Wonder what has caused Umno's change of heart? Scared of the rakyat maybe?

Wfcoolie: GST's multiplier effect cannot be denied, unless there is a system to monitor the whole flow. Since a system is not in place, it is only sensible that the exercise be put off. We seem to love to follow the practices of the more "advanced" economies but forget that ours still has plenty of improvements to be made.

Today, even a small adjustment to some basic commodities will cause all the hawkers to raise their prices per bowl more than the increase per kg. The powers-that-be should improve their monitoring system, and while most of the mechanism of enforcement are empowered, they still fail to deliver.

Banguntidur: We are finally growing up. This is what is called democracy. People vote, people elect and people should be consulted.

Dear PM Najib, please heed this outcry of the people. The people must be consulted for whatever major issues involving taxpayers' money. This country belongs to the people, as taxes are collected from the people, not from Umno, MIC and MCA.

Wira: GST is an equitable tax that taxes on consumption. However, I will not agree to its implementation if the government does not take a serious stance to weed out corruption and improve transparency.

1Msia?: Another victory for Pakatan Rakyat, another loss for Umno/BN. It looks like Umno has no confidence and has to run again and again to the Royal Malaysian Police Force. No, Umno/BN is not stupid. They are just billionaires who have lost touch with the the plight of the poor man in the street. The cabinet thinks that its decisions will get automatic acceptance from the rakyat. Those days are gone.

Malaysians through the alternative media know how corrupted and immoral Umno/BN is.

PSM calls for referendum on GST

Hardtail: BN wasn't going to ‘consult the rakyat' for the rakyat's sake. It was just watching out for its own survival. More flip-flopping from the BN government on important issues like this will continue.

Mamak: There's no need to implement the GST. Weed out graft and we won't suffer any losses.

Not confused: Consult with the rakyat? I wonder how it proposes to do that? In most civilised democracies, the government publishes a discussion paper and proposals in the form of a document called a ‘white paper', and many months are spent in formulating what is actually put into the proposed legislation prior to it being debated in Parliament.

They are going to do all this so-called ‘consulting' in a short while before a second reading? I don't think so.

GST the latest in series of 'embarrassing U-turns'

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/126516

Sugumaran Rajaram: What can the rakyat expect from this bunch of self-seeking politicians of Umno and its 'slaves' ? There is so much self-interest, lust for power and ill-gotten gains that results in conflict of interests and what not.

A change in government can't be any worse. BN is really rotten to the core. The latest U-turns are all indications of this rot.

Nice1link: I bet after this the government will come up with a GST rationalisation lab. That seems to be the current trend. Got problem, create a lab.

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