KUCHING: The Federal Government has been urged to be more transparent on the allocation of revenue generated from the upcoming expansion of the Sales and Service Tax (SST), which is set to take effect next month.
Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Batu Kitang Branch secretary Amy Tnay questioned whether the revenue, estimated to bring in RM5 billion as announced by the Ministry of Finance, will be effectively channeled into public services such as hospitals and schools, as suggested by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“If RM5 billion is used to subsidise the basic construction of hospitals and schools, then please explain which areas of hospitals or schools will be upgraded, or which areas the government will use this tax revenue to build new hospitals or schools,” said Tnay in a statement.
She expressed concern over the lack of details, plans and follow-up regarding the subsidy announcements.
Tnay also supported a recent proposal made by National Chinese Association of Malaysia president Wu Tianquan, who suggested that Sarawak and Sabah be exempted from the SST expansion due to regional development considerations.
“We also call on the federal government to consider returning all the sales and service tax paid by Sarawakians to the Sarawak government for the development of Sarawak, otherwise it will be extremely unfair to Sarawak,” she said.
As an example, Tnay pointed to the road tax collected by the federal government, noting that despite these contributions, many Sarawakians still face incomplete road infrastructure and insufficient access to quality facilities.
“The federal government cannot collect various taxes from the people of Sarawak while ignoring the basic needs and demands of Sarawak. This is absolutely unfair to Sarawak,” she said.
