With the government now going ahead with the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said it was up to the people to decide on their next government.

Lim said this when asked to comment on the passing of the motion to sign the TPPA in Parliament yesterday following a two-day debate.

The federal government was able to push through the TPPA with a 43-majority vote, with 127 BN representatives for and 84 opposition MPs against.

“It’s up to the people to make their choice now. Even though we lost in Parliament, the people have to decide what needs to be done to ensure that they do not lose in the national polls,” Lim said at a press conference in George Town today.

The press conference was held after an exchange of documents ceremony between Osram and the Penang Development Center which Lim attended.

“It was a bitter day for Malaysia when the TPPA motion was passed, especially for ordinary folk,” Lim added.

“We opposed it because it could not guarantee that costs will be controlled, for example, the costs of medicines,” he said.

Lim said coupled with the implementation of the six percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) which the BN government said it had no plans to stop or review, the people’s life would only get harder.

Lim also strongly disagreed with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s reminder to the 1.6 million civil servants that they still kept their jobs thanks to the GST collection.

GST to 'save the BN'

“I do not know why he says such things. Even without the GST, Penang has been able to pay the salary of its civil service.

“Our reserves have been increasing yearly,” he added, showing reporters a copy of the state’s financial statement from 2004 to 2014.

“Najib merely wants to defend the GST but the tax cannot salvage the country’s poor economy […] it can probably only save the government from becoming bankrupt,” Lim said.

He reiterated his assertion that the GST was implemented to 'save the BN' while the masses suffer drastic cuts in their spending amid rising costs.

Lim also pointed out that the GST could neither improve the economy or restore the value of the ringgit to its past levels of RM3,20 to one US dollar.

The ringgit currently stands at RM4.22 to the dollar.

“Due to the GST, businesses have been failing and workers do not have enough money to spend while BN is being rescued although it has failed in administering the country properly,” he said.