The column reflects the view of the writer
By Aisyah Suwardi
AS of June 1, 2018, Malaysia’s national debt is reported by our Finance Minister to be standing at RM1,087.3tril. With this astounding numbers being revealed, the next concern highlighted was how do we pay the debt?
Everyone knows that Malaysia is a country rich with resources, meaning that the State has other income avenues besides collecting taxes, though it seems like people are so fixated on taxes being the only way to repay the country’s debt.
I understand that debt have a timeframe and collecting taxes seems to be the fastest way to clear off the debt. As the GST has been abolished to 0%, I saw quite a few articles talking about how GST is good for the country to pay off the debt and good for the economy.
While I understand these concerns were raised with a good intention, and they are the ones with economy degrees (and masters and PhD), as well as citing good examples from the other country who have implemented the GST, I support the abolishment of the GST.
Here’s why:
- Increased price of goods
When GST was implemented, the prices of goods increase. We’re talking about the everyday groceries, the most necessities. Yes, it's true that there are GST-exempted items, but did the retailers or sellers not increase the prices of their goods? Really?
- Poor people pay more GST than the rich people (in terms of income proportion)
This is such an unpopular opinion amongst the middle-income and the higher-income people. Their argument is: You paid for what you buy. So because I’m a wealthy people, I spend more than you did. So its a same-same. This statement is no different from the infamous quotes from the previous government, “If you can’t afford to buy groceries, plant your vegetables.”
Let me break it down:
| Household income of RM2,000 | Household income of RM5,000 |
| Groceries RM200 | Groceries RM200 |
| Bills RM150 | Bills RM150 |
| Misc (Clothes, home items, etc) RM300 | Misc (Clothes, home items, etc) RM300 |
| Total RM650 | Total RM650 |
| % spend from income 32.5% | % spend from income 13% |
And this was just a rough estimation. I didn’t even include rent or petrol or car payment and other stuff. Just because everyone is treated equally, doesn’t mean that it is a fair thing to do. Your Gucci bag is optional; their groceries are not.
The new government was formed because the citizens wanted a change. I think it should be their priority to help ease up the people’s hardship. If it's done right, I don't think anything will go wrong if you put the citizens’ need above all. Serve the citizens, and we will serve you back.
It doesn’t matter if we collected RM40bil or RM20bil, what’s important is who are the one who managed the fund.
