Anti-GST protest: An act of folly by desperate politicians
KUALA LUMPUR: Various news portals have reported the incident where anti- GST (Goods & Services Tax) protesters barged into the Customs Department in Kelana Jaya on Monday.
On the pretext of handing a list of 106 questions to the Customs director- general, about 100 protesters led by a bunch of irrelevant politicians, occupied the Customs office.
This irresponsible action by 0.00003 per cent of Malaysians is highly deplorable.
They had disrupted daily business at the office, depriving the rakyat of the routine services of the Customs Department.
Maybe, this is the 11th hour ‘ radical’ delay tactic that they vowed to use to defer the implementation of the GST.
If it is, then they only have themselves to blame when they face the full brunt of the law.
What right does this tiny minority have to impose their will on the rest of Malaysians?
The GST was passed by duly elected representatives in Parliament on May 5, 2014.
It is the expressed wish of the majority of Malaysians that the GST be implemented. There is no need for them to barge into the Customs office to get the answers to the 106 questions.
All they need to do is to go the following websites and get their queries about the GST answered; http://gst.customs.gov.my, http:// gstmalaysiainfo.com, http:// gstmalaysiamandarin. com. my, http://www.apaitugst.com, http://www.loanstreet.com.my/ learning-centre/GST-In-MalaysiaExplained, https://www.imoney. my/articles/why-malaysia-needsgst
Since October 2013, when the GST was formally announced in Parliament, until March 23, 2015, they had 500 days or 17 months to learn about it.
However, if they choose to be blissful in their ignorance and revel in their blinkered opposition to the GST, it is their right.
But it is not their right to disrupt the routine conduct of government and public services.
The incident at the Customs Department only confirms the experience of some of the countries that have implemented the GST.
While the majority in the mainstream supported the GST, the minority on the fringes opposed it. The condition is aggravated when these people are exploited by irrelevant politicians desperate to be back in the limelight.
One stark fact that those opposed to the GST have to take into cognizance is that in 169 countries that have implemented the GST since 1954, none has repealed it; even with change of government.
It is lamentable that as the government and rakyat prepare themselves to move forward towards a better, more efficient and transparent tax system which would ultimately benefit them in terms of development, amenities and social assistance, there is still a small minority of misguided and inconsiderate Malaysians who choose to express their dissent using methods which disrupt peace and public order. — Bernama