COMMENT Gone are the days when parliamentarians can cast their votes and ‘hide’ their hands, especially when it comes to important bills such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.

There are members of parliaments, for example, Abdul Hadi Awang, who appear to be present in Parliament when voting was done on an important bill as the GST.

As voters, we should know what our lawmakers are up to when they vote for or against a bill that affects our daily lives. This will form the basis for us to either vote for them or against them, come the next general election in less than 36 months.

Tomorrow, when Malaysians go to the streets to protest against the GST, they have the right to know who were responsible for their hardships.

If not for their support of the GST, would any of us need to even spend hours under the hot sun to show our support to the #Kita Lawan secretariat, who have called the public demonstration?

Let’s look at the list of people who voted in favour of the GST. It goes without saying that the opposition had voted against the Bill when it was first tabled in Parliament last year.

Of 222 parliamentarians that we have, 119 had voted for it, while 81 were against it. Now, who exactly are the 119 parliamentarians?

The chieftain of GST

Of this, 77 are from Umno. The include the Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak, and two of three Umno vice presidents - Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Shafie Apdal. Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who is Umno’s secretary-general and who recently courted controversy over his soup kitchens ban, also gave his blessings to the bill.

It is interesting that, when PKR election director for Permatang Pauh Saifuddin Nasution urged Najib to explain about the GST, there was just elegant silence from Najib.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yasin, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and the third VP, Hishammuddin Hussein’s name did not appear on the list of MPs who voted in favour. They were simply absent from Parliament.

Others from Umno were Kinabatangan’s Bung Moktar Radin, known for his sexist “bocor” remark, Jumat Idris ( right ), who recently made news over the RM1,200 he paid in GST for his son’s medical bills . Both are from Sabah.

From Johor, it was Shahrir Samad. While his brother Khalid Samad voted against, Shahrir gave the bill his vote. Besides him, the others from Umno are Shahidan Kassim, Mustapa Mohamed, Ahmad Shabery Cheek and the controversial “boycott Chinese traders” Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

It would be interesting to find out if Umno’s candidate for Rompin, Hasan Arifin, would vote in the way his predecessor, the late Jamaluddin Jarjis also voted for the GST.

The others include Felda’s boss, Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, former youth and sports minister Azalina Othman Said, current PAC chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamed, ministers Ahmad Maslan and Anifah Aman, as well as deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee.

So, indeed, Najib is not the Lone Ranger on GST - a fact that even former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has to acknowledge. Najib had other Tontos, who were with him all the way to see the GST implemented.

The other tontos

All seven MCA parliamentarians from its president, Liow Tiong Lai, deputy president, Wee Ka Siong, to others like Ong Ka Chuan, Koh Nai Kwong, Chua Tee Yong, Khoo Soo Seang and Wee Jeck Seng also voted in favour.

Likewise, all three MIC parliamentarians who are also occupying various cabinet positions, G Palanivel, M Saravanan and P Kamalanathan, also voted in favour of the GST. They represent the one-percent below the poverty line, made popular by fellow cabinet minister Idris Jala in his Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) 2014.

Before the Teluk Intan by-election, Gerakan’s only candidate, Liang Teck Meng also gave his vote in favour of the GST. His president, Mah Siew Keong, has not declared his own stand, but it is unlikely that he will stick out like a sore thumb by voting against the GST.

From the east

Sarawakians may want to know that 14 parliamentarians from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) have voted for the GST.

They include among the more prominent names like current Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar ( left ), Works Minister Fadillah Yusof, de facto Law Minister Nancy Shukri and Leo Michael Toyad, while their counterparts in Parti Rakyat Sarawak - Masir Kujat, William @ Nyallau Badak, Joseph Salang Gandum, Aaron Ago Dagang. Joseph Entulu Belaun and Wilson Ugak Kumbong - have also given the boost to BN’s votes to pass the Bill.

Both Nogeh Gumbek and William Mawan Ikom from the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak’s (SUPP) Richard Riot Jaem also lent their support. So, now, Sarawakians have to accept their fate, because it is their Members of Parliaments who voted for the GST.

Prices of goods and services have soared high in both East Malaysian states because of the support the GST received from their elected representatives.

From Sabah, we have Parti Bersatu Sabah’s (PBS) president Joseph Pairin Kitingan and his deputy president, Maximus Johnity Ongkili, while Joseph Kurup from Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) also gave the bill the thumbs-up. All three Upko parliamentarians also supported the bill.

Is there any wonder why Malaysians love them for introducing the most efficient way to collect revenues from the ordinary people?

After all, Malaysians love to pay their taxes and they are law-abiding citizens who would go with the flow. If the government says the GST is good, convinced citizens would appear in advertisements giving the thumbs-up, too!

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.