I'd be for GST if incomes are adequate, says Anwar

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim reiterated that his position on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) had long been for its imposition provided that income levels are raised to render the tax less punitive to lower income brackets than is the case now.

Speaking at a PKR-organised Deepavali open house in Batu Uban, Penang, Anwar, who was once finance minister (1990-98), said the idea of the tax was broached by Daim Zainuddin from whom Anwar understood the need for its imposition.

"But I knew that income levels of people had generally to be raised before the GST could be imposed so that people at the lower end of the scale would not be unduly punished," said the opposition leader who attended the function hosted by Batu Uban PKR state assemblyperson Dr T Jeyabalan.

The Pakatan Rakyat supremo said imposing the GST in circumstances when corruption is rampant, leakages common and misappropriations recurrent would redound to the severe disadvantage of lower income groups.

"The price of oil has gone up after the general elections, and sugar and flour have also gone up but people's incomes have not gone up, so if you have a GST of six percent, ordinary people are going to feel the strain considerably," said Anwar.

Lean and frugal

Anwar said a Pakatan Rakyat government would be lean and frugal such that what it saves on operating expenditure would enable it to delay the imposition of the GST until the incomes of average Malaysians rise to cushion the effects of the tax.

"The present government is wasteful - look at the annual Auditor General's Report and see how much is wasted and lost through leakages," added Anwar.

"In these circumstances, imposing the GST would punish the rakyat further after the poor governance of the ruling party had already adversely affected them," he argued.

He drew a parallel between Deepavali's celebration of the triumph of light over darkness and Pakatan's endeavour to overcome a corruption-plagued BN.

He said the good governance displayed by Pakatan administrations in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan represented a triumph for the forces of reform over the agents of regression in the country.