Be more people-sensitive, PH govt told

KUCHING: The Youth wing of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Kuching is urging the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to be more people-sensitive before the implementation of policies.

They said this in response to the recent remark by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir that the federal government would study the possibility of bringing back the Goods and Services Tax (GST) if the people believed it was better than Sales and Services Tax (SST).

“It is now more than a year after GST was replaced by SST. Prices have not gone down. In fact, the national economy is getting worse and the people are under great financial stress,” according to their press statement received here yesterday.

The Youth wing also urged the PH government to not treat national policies as child’s play, and make many U-turns along the way.

“Malaysia is the first country in the world to implement GST, abolished it, implement SST and is planning to bring back GST.

“If the PH government implements GST, will the rate be kept below 2.5 per cent? Will there be a price fall, or a price rise?

“Will the PH government allocate more funds to Sarawak in the 2020 Budget after the implementation of GST? Will there be any initiatives to revitalise the economy of Sarawak? These are issues of concern to SUPP and Sarawakians.”

The statement added: “The PH government should not always blame policies of the previous government. Instead introduce correct policies that are beneficial to the people and nation.

“After all, GST is acknowledged as a fair tax system, which is implemented in more than 100 countries.”