By Stephanie Jacob
Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah
A goods and services tax (GST) has become a ‘must’, rather than an option for Malaysia, said the secretary-general of the Finance Ministry, Irwan Serigar Abdullah who also confirmed that the government would work to include it in the budget this year.
The secretary-general was speaking alongside Pemandu CEO and Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Idris Jala during a question and answer session following the latter’s presentation of Pemandu’s midyear ETP report today.
He said that the government felt it was necessary to introduce GST soon as even if it was included in the 2014 budget, it would only actually be implemented in 2015.
Irwan also said that the government was aware of the concerns people had over the possible impact GST might have in raising the cost of essential goods, and said that it would look into categorising certain goods and products under the zero rate status or provide rebates to those who needed them.
Jala meanwhile reiterated the government’s commitment to subsidy rationalisation, saying that the Finance Ministry’s fiscal policy committee would be meeting in the coming days to discuss the issue and there would be more announcements on the matter following the meeting.
The government is also in the process of reviewing mega projects to take into account the volatile local and global economic situation as well as the current state of the ringgit. While refusing to identify specific projects, Irwan said there will be a sequencing or rescheduling of projects.
Jala said that the government would prioritise projects that promised a high multiplier effect and had low import levels. Neither was willing to comment on whether the MRT 2 and 3 projects would be affected, instead saying that the Prime Minister would release more information in the coming weeks
Jala also said that the cabinet has decided that the minimum wage policy will be fully implemented in January next year. He added that the policy was a crucial part of the government’s push towards making the country a high income nation as it would ensure that it was inclusive and all levels of society would be able to earn a living wage.
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