masterwordsmith-unplugged

At the recent forum on GST held in Penang, I learnt a few startling facts which made me do more research. Here are some fantastic facts and figures which will help us to decide - DO WE REALLY NEED THE GST? I make no apologies that this is a long post because of the volume of data I generated from researching the issues at hand. Please read it seriously and consider your personal response to the question.


Fact #1
In 2009, the Federal Budget showed:

RM74 million spent on BTN
RM70 million spent on Parliament

Fact #2
2010 BTN budget : RM62 million.
2010 Parliament budget : RM66 million

Fact #3
2009 PM's Department’s Budget : RM14 billion.
2010 PM's Department's Budget : RM12 billion.

At THIS LINK, Malaysian Insider reported:

The Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong went to great lengths to point out that the Prime Minister’s department, in effect, actually runs a budget 200 times that of Parliament, a sign of “extreme lop-sidedness” in the country’s parliamentary democracy as the department is just one of 25 federal ministries."

“In the next financial year, Parliament is to employ 263 staff while BTN has 244 formal staff with an undisclosed number of ‘cadres’ and ‘volunteers’ operating task forces and ‘community services’,” exclaimed Liew. (The Prime Minister’s Department claims to have 29,005 positions.)

At the JASA website, I discovered the following statistics (translation for this data was unavailable at that site):

Pakej rangsangan RM60 bilion

Empat teras utama

Melalui bajet mini terbabit kerajaan telah mengumumkan peruntukan sebanyak RM60 bilion - hampir sembilan peratus daripada KDNK. Pelaksanaan pakej rangsangan yang bersaiz besar seperti ini adalah kali pertama dilakukan dalam sejarah ekonomi negara. Pakej rangsangan ini memberi tumpuan kepada empat teras utama, seperti berikut:

TERAS PERTAMA : Mengurangkan Pengangguran Dan Menambah Peluang Pekerjaan;
TERAS KEDUA : Meringankan Beban Rakyat, Terutamanya Golongan Mudah Terjejas;
TERAS KETIGA : Membantu Sektor Swasta Menghadapi Krisis; dan
TERAS KEEMPAT : Membina Keupayaan Masa Depan.

Pakej rangsangan kedua ini akan dilaksanakan dalam tempoh dua tahun iaitu 2009 dan 2010. Daripada jumlah itu, ianya diagihkan seperti berikut:

RM15 bilion merupakan suntikan fiskal;
RM25 bilion dana jaminan;
RM10 bilion pelaburan ekuiti;
RM7 bilion inisiatif pembiayaan swasta (PFI) dan off-budget ; dan
RM3 bilion insentif cukai.

Jumlah RM60 bilion ini diperuntukkan kepada empat teras seperti berikut:

Teras Pertama : RM2 bilion;
Teras Kedua:RM10 bilion;
Teras Ketiga RM29 bilion; dan
Teras Keempat RM19 bilion.

Daripada suntikan fiskal sebanyak RM15 bilion, sejumlah RM10 bilion adalah bagi tahun 2009 dan RM5 bilion bagi 2010. Jumlah RM10 bilion dalam tahun 2009 dibahagikan kepada RM5 bilion untuk belanja mengurus dan RM5 bilion untuk perbelanjaan pembangunan.

Saiz perbelanjaan ini memberi impak kepada peningkatan defisit Bajet Kerajaan Persekutuan, yang dianggarkan daripada 4.8 peratus kepada 7.6 peratus pada tahun ini. Namun, kerajaan yakin defisit ini akan dapat dibiayai daripada sumber dalam negeri, memandangkan tahap kecairan yang tinggi dalam sistem kewangan tempatan.

Fakta Angka

Dana-dana tambahan:

RM674j Subsidi elak kenaikan harga bahan makanan harian
RM700j Wujud peluang latihan dan penempatan pekerjaan di sektor awam dan swasta
RM200j Bina Rumah Mesra Rakyat
RM30,000 Pelepasan cukai faedah pinjaman perumahan RM10,000 setahun selama tiga tahun
RM5,000 Diskaun lupus kereta berusia 10 tahun, beli Proton Produa baru
RM10b Tambahan dana pelaburan Khazanah Nasional untuk tingkatkan pelaburan domestik
RM1.96b Bina dan menambah baik kemudahan 752 sekolah
RM200j Dana Pembangunan Automatif
RM480j menampung kadar tol tidak dinaikkan

It would be very helpful if we could have access to the finer details as to how the money was disbursed in the Stimulus Package and the extent of which it achieved success.

The rakyat NEED to know. After all, it is our money spent for our country, right?

I opine that instead of implementing the GST which is a regressive tax that will severely impact the poor, the government must implement economic reforms that can get our country back on track again. I humbly offer the following suggestions:

SUGGESTION #1

Introduce reforms to the way some leaders procure and sell government assets in order to ensure that the nation receives the greatest value for its resources. There has to be a complete revamp in crony concessions, if any. Currently, tariffs and tolls are increased but at the same time, so are subsidies to certain quarters. This does not make sense.

For instance, Malaysian Insider HERE reported:

Plus Expressways Bhd, provider of expressway operation services, reported RM1.624 billion in higher pre-tax profit for the year ended Dec 31, 2009, 7.1 per cent higher from RM1.516 billion in 2008.

Turnover was also higher at RM3.179 billion, 7.1 per cent higher from RM2.968 billion in 2008. Click HERE for more.

In July last year, MP Tony Pua made the following suggestions which I believe are justified in the light of the above report:

The DAP has proposed that the Government should buy back all shares of PLUS Expressways Bhd which it does not already own and take over its existing asset backed liabilities for the approximate amount of RM15 billion. This amount and more, will be recovered from motorists using the North-South Highway by maintaining the existing toll rates for a period of six years. Should PLUS be acquired this year, by 2016, toll will no longer be required to be collected on PLUS owned highways.

We have also proposed that highways such as the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP) with reasonable expropriation clauses be acquired from the concessionaires as per the terms in the concession agreements. It is estimated that the cost of buying back LDP will only cost approximately RM1.4 billion, including liabilities to be assumed by the government.

Critics have panned the above proposals based on the following reasons:

1. The funds needed for the acquisition of highways can be better utilised for other projects.

2. The acquisition of these highways which are largely in Peninsula Malaysia will anger East Malaysians who do not benefit from the funds used for buy-back.

Unfortunately, the arguments above only apply if the Government is not already spending more in terms of compensation to these highway companies. For example, toll compensation to PLUS amounted to RM655 million, RM698 million and RM731 million for 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. PLUS has 30 more years before the concession expires. Without even taking into consideration the direct toll collection from motorists, the Government's compensation amount over the next 30 years will exceed RM68 billion should the current toll rates be maintained, after taking into account the fact that PLUS is entitled to increase toll tariffs by 10% every 3 years.

Similarly for the LDP, assuming that toll rates are capped at RM1.60 and no traffic increase, it'll cost an estimated RM1.54 billion in compensation alone between now and the end of the concession in 2029. For both highways, it is clearly more economical for the Government to buy back these highways, allowing for more funds to be used for other projects, including those in East Malaysia.

3. There is no economic impact from money spent to buy back the highways, compared to spending them on “stimulus” projects

This will also prove to be a fallacy. The outcome of the acquisition of these highways, will mean increased in billions of disposable income for millions of Malaysians as a result of toll savings. The stimulus impact of such an increase will certainly mean a boost in domestic consumption which will benefit our economy at a time when foreign investment contribution to our economy is falling rapidly. Extra funds in the pockets of millions of Malaysians will therefore have greater stimulus impact than the billions ending in the pockets of a few via the extraordinary profits made by these highway concessionaires.

4. The Government will have problems raising the funds to execute the highway buy backs.

5. The buy backs will result in a higher budget deficit. Click HERE for more.

SUGGESTION #2

The government has a moral responsibility to look for new sources of revenue without taxing the rakyat literally and figuratively. They have been elected by the rakyat to lead the country with good governance and have at their disposal the resources to find ways and means to do so. Manpower resources MUST be maximized for this objective to steer the country to economic progress and freedom. It takes a lot of brains, grit, determination, research and commitment to do this. Are they prepared?

SUGGESTION #3

The government must do their utmost to achieve a high income society in Malaysia. If there is a problem with tax revenue in Malaysia, it is because of Malaysia's low per capita income where only 15% of the rakyat pay taxes. Bear in mind that the Gini Coefficient of our country is very high in comparison to other nations. Please read my post HERE.

Why is Singapore more developed than Malaysia? It has higher productivity and the people have higher income. There are low levels of corruption and high transparency and low evaporation of government funds. For the past twenty years, the income level in our country has hardly changed whereas for Singapore, they have lowered their tax rates because MORE people are paying tax!

There is no need to increase taxes if productivity is high.. Remember the RM270billion profit of PETRONAS over the last five years? How was it spent? Was it used in such a way that it increased the productivity of the people? Go figure.

Malaysia must become a high income society BEFORE the government implements the GST.

So do we really need the GST? Or can the implementation of the GST be a precursor to more economic problems looming in the horizon?



If the government uses its resources prudently to increase productivity, there is no need for the GST.

But how has money been spent?

I mentioned it before and we all know...The money has been spent on submarines that cannot dive, jets with missing engines, naval ships that cannot sail, premier prices for items leading to RM28billion leakages as announced in the Auditor-General's report and the list goes on.

These and other expenditure on opulent and lavish buildings do not have any multiplier effect on our economy! We have a major cash flow problem and the government must help and NOT burden the rakyat. Our debt is too high in relation to our GDP. Go to THIS LINK for the BNM Summary Data Page on Economic and Financial Data for Malaysia.

Has the government done all that it can to stop leakages, to ensure ZERO corruption levels and to maximise efficiency and productivity for the well-being of our citizens?

According to Malaysiakini HERE :

The government has apparently sought to buy more time by putting off the tabling of the controversial for Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill for second reading when Parliament resumes its sitting on Monday.

Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said government needed more time to gather feedback from the rakyat.

"It (GST) will not be tabled for second reading in the March/April session (of Parliament) because we need more time to engage with the public.

"We want the public's opinion on GST," Husni told reporters after opening the Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce (KLMCC)'s annual general meeting today.

I hope the Second Finance Minister will tell us how we can give him our opinion on the implementation of GST. Dear readers, it is our moral responsibility to voice our objection to this GST. Please do not leave it to the MPs or ADUNs alone for they have far too much on their platter.

Please give the GST issue very careful and serious consideration. Do not keep silent. Do we need the GST?

If you believe you don't, then follow the call of the second finance minister given today. Voice your discontent in legal channels such as in petitions, letters, forums, etc and follow the suggestions if given by our Second Finance Minister as to how we can give him feedback. It is up to you, me and EVERYBODY. Act now or regret for the rest of our GST-ed lives!!!!

On behalf of the rakyat, I appeal to the government NOT to implement the GST and to work hard to improve our well-being in salient, tangible, practical, logical, rational and accountable ways. Thank you!