SHAH ALAM, 9 Jan: The spending of RM200 million to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is seen as another wastage by Barisan Nasional (BN) when the money could be channelled to the needy.
The PKR Consumerism Bureau Chairman, Yahya Shari, said that the Federal Government should have used the money to give out subsidies or scholarships to the people who are forced to face the increasing cost of living.
He said that the wastage shows the lack of concern of the Federal Government, which is administered by BN, in handling the people’s problems.
“We are very disappointed with the Federal Government’s move, which is insensitive to the people’s problems at the moment,” he said when contacted by Selangor Kini.
Yahya also questioned the amount, which is too large, for the GST campaign and software used by the Federal Government.
“Because the Federal Government stubbornly wants to implement the GST, a huge amount has been used just for the campaign.
“While the money belongs to the people and the money should be used for the people for various purposes,” he said.
He said that due to the large expenditure, he urges BN to clarify in detail the real expense for fear that it has been misused by BN leaders.
Yesterday, the PKR Strategy Director, Rafizi Ramli, said that so far, Putrajaya has spent RM200 million to implement the GST and the cost is expected to increase to over RM1 billion before it is in effect on 1 April next year.
He said that the huge expenditure is a waste because with the amount, the government could have bought a software company.
Recently, the Customs Chief Director, Datuk Seri Khazali Hamzah, announced that the government will be spending RM100 million to build the MyGST.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry’s Tax Division Deputy Secretary General, Khairul Annuar Othman, announced that the 2014 Budget will allocate RM100 million for carrying out GST campaigns and training.
