Protesters at the anti-goods and services tax (GST) rally on May 1 had "no idea" about the very thing they were protesting about, claims MCA vice president Chua Tee Yong.

"Through interviews with the participants who attended the anti-GST rally organised by the opposition, we found that many of the public have no idea on what GST is all about...

"(Or) they might have misconception on the tax due to poor and misleading information," Chua (left) said in a statement today.

However, he did not provide details about the said interviews.

Some 50,000 people turned up at the anti-GST protest at Dataran Merdeka.

The GST which has already been passed by Parliament will come into force on April 1, 2015 at a rate of six percent.

As such, Chua stressed the need for the government to provide more information and step up engagement on GST, which he conceded was lacking.

'Lack of information on GST'

"With lacking information and engagement from the government, potential price hike in basic foodstuff, along with the overall higher cost of living, will continue be the major concern of rakyat

"I would like to call on government to quickly address this issue and be more proactive in engaging the relevant parties for better mutual understanding," he said.

He added that with less than a year left to its implementation, there are still many questions over items that would be zero-rated or exempted from GST.

For example, he said, the Association of Fresh Fruits and Vegetable MaIaysia had expressed worry that GST will cause an increase of 20 percent in fresh fruit and vegetable prices.

However, he reiterated the necessity of GST to improve the country's fiscal health.

"No one enjoys paying taxes. But if the GST is not implemented, not only Malaysia's international rating will be downgraded but the cost of borrowing increases and the currency depreciates. It will affect everyone negatively eventually," he said.

Chua also urged affirmative action for the needy which may be impacted by the GST.

Last month, Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan revealed Putrajaya had allocated RM2.22 million for public education on GST.

Ahmad, who is also Umno information chief, had said there will be four GST programmes in all 222 parliamentary constituencies, for which speakers will be determined by their respective Umno division chiefs.