Share GST earnings from Sabah, Putrajaya told

With GST, Sabahans would be paying more tax than any Malaysians outside of Sabah because our goods are more expensive than theirs. It’s a policy that will only further discriminate and marginalise Sabahans..

KOTA KINABALU: Now that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill has been passed in Parliament, Likas assemblyman Junz Wong is looking for “alternative” ways to buffer Sabahans from its impact.

Wong will be tabling a motion in the State Legislative Assembly today to demand that the Federal Government return to Sabah 50% of the relevant taxes collected from the state.

Wong estimates that the federal government will collect about RM2 billion in GST from Sabah once the system is implemented next year.

“Malaysia is not ready for GST but since the bill has been passed in Parliament, it’s pointless to fight it anymore.

“The next best move (now) would be to find an alternative to further improve the life of Sabahans,” said Wong.

Sabah, being the poorest state in Malaysia has always incurred a ridiculously high amount of living expenses which is not compatible with their earnings, he said.

“Most of our raw materials are imported and the general public are the ones getting the brunt of the high prices.

“The common man struggles to keep up with the high rising price on goods as they earn an unreasonably low income,” said Wong, who is also DAP Sabah Organising Secretary.

He said this was because it is hard for the general public to involve themselves in import business due to monopolistic policies.

Devastating chain effect

Wong also described as a failure the Price Uniformity Scheme by the federal government, which allocated RM386 million to close the gap of prices in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Living expenses continue to be high as the scheme does not seem to impact the lives of the people. If nothing is being done, the accumulative chain effect from the GST would further devastate the people’s living.

“With GST, Sabahans would be paying more tax than any Malaysians outside of Sabah because our goods are more expensive than theirs. It’s a policy that will only further discriminate and marginalise Sabahans,” he said.

On Tuesday in an immediate reaction to the passing of the GST Bill, Wong lamented that housing would now be inaccessible to the younger generation. He said already houses in Sabah were overpriced .

“With GST, Sabahans would be paying more tax than any Malaysians outside Sabah because our goods in general are more expensive. The implementation of GST will cause a chain reaction to the prices of houses.

“Land developers and suppliers will be taxed on land, raw materials and transportation, causing less profit for the related players. House buyers will bear the burden of the end cost, which will also be taxed,” he said.

FMT Borneo Plus