Wednesday, April 1, 2015

GST: Shame On You

Hantu Laut


NEPAL (Where I am at the moment)
I have been here close to two months and was in Turkey and Greece a week ago.
Fuel price here:Diesel 0.78 Euro = RM3.09 per litre
Petrol 0.98 Euro = RM3.89 per litre
VAT (GST) 13%
Nepal is one of the poorest nations on the globe, yet people take everything in their stride.
Malaysia GST come into effect on 1st April 2015 (today) after almost a year of deafening political crescendo against its implementation fuelled by the opposition's overzealousness in pushing on a hurried demolition of the beleaguered government.
Malaysia per capita fuel consumption in 2013 was 265 litre (Pop 30 million)
See countries below for comparison.
Thailand 74L (67)
Indonesia 86L (252)
U.K 220L (63)
Japan 329L (126)
We consumed more (sic) fuel per person than industrial Japan.
They complained about everything from the prices of fuel to the price of their underwear, when we are one of the cheapest in the world.
Try figure out how wasteful and useless Malaysians are when come to saving. Our household debt was 87% of GDP in 2013, in the top 10 in the world. They never stop complaining and whining about how expensive everything are, but are awful wasters and gas guzzlers themselves, want everything cheap and free, spoilt by years of government subsidies.
Just 6% GST, they make so much noise, like the world falling apart on them.
The irony, the biggest squanderers are not the poor, but the middle class and the wealthy........http://www.thestar.com.my/story/…
.......and so are those, who ceaselessly complaining, the same group of people.
Shame on you Malaysians!

7 comments:

IT.Scheiss said...

"Japan 329L (126)"

"We consumed more fuel per person than industrial Japan."

How can 265 litres per capita in Malaysia be more that 329 litres in Japan or did you type your figures wrong?

Anyway, I am goingto wait and see how the effects of GST in Malaysia pan out over time?

True, VAT or GST whatever it's called has been implemented in most countries in the world and their people have learned to live with it.

That said, prices of manufactured goods and processed foodstuffs like canned food have gone up a bit due to 6% GST.

Like a can of Ayam brand sardines costs RM4,50 in KK convenience store om 31st March and it will costs RM4.77 from 1 April after GSt comes into effect.

However, my neighbourhood Mammak shop still charged me RM2.50 for a cup of hot Milo on 1 April, like it did before, though its prices of a cup of Milo had gone up some months back.


It may be a question of timing and specific implementation in Malaysia compared to other countries, so it is left to be seen.

Also, prices of items have been rising over the years due to inflation, so this is just a jump in prices across the board rather than gradual increase in prices of of different items over time.

However, the knock on effects are left to be seen.

gram.kong said...

IT.Scheiss,

I know, done on purpose, oxymoronic and lampooning, no reason for Malaysians to consume so much fuel for so much less productivity.It goes to show that we are wasteful society.

I am writing in support of GST not because I support the government of the day, because GST has proven all over the world in countries that have implemented it to be the most effective way to plug leakages, tax evasion and double accounting, which is rampant in many countries including Malaysia. This country has been slow in embracing GST, which should have been introduced long ago.

My only worry is corruptions, how the money will be used by the present government well known for its abuses of public funds.

Frankly, I think Najib should step down on his own accord before he is thrown out, he seems to have no control whatsoever over how to run the country.

IT.Scheiss said...

Gram Kong,

I do agree that such a level of per capita fuel consumption is excessive for Malaysians, whether of not Hantu Laut made a mistake with regards Japan.

However yes, the bigger question is how the proceeds from GST will be used - i.e. will it be used for the people's benefit or will it go into cronies' pockets.

Also knowing how excellent the Malaysian government is at bad implementation, will the authorities be able to implement the GST effectively.

Remember, this is the first time the Customs must go down to the level of sundry shops, etc. when in the past they operated at Customs check points.

Also, even small price rises will hit all, especially the low income rural and urban voters who have been the mainstay of the BN, especially UMNO and will no doubt provide a golden opportunity to the opposition.

kampong lad said...

per capita income, per capita fuel consumption & what per capita have you are all no meaning to me, kampong folk. just zero in to 'right targets'. don't apply across the board. and get rid of br1m. regressive tax has more negative than positive effect.

presently, prices of finished products before apr 1, where the sales tax has been built-in are whacked with the 6%, it is GSST to me. what do you think?

Anonymous said...

How does one figure out malaysian fuel consumption per capita? The figure is very high compared to the other countries listed.

There must be a particular reason other than "the people are wasting petrol". I don't know how to even 'waste' petrol. Did malaysians use petrol differently than thais? Most cars I see on the road are local cars, and not the petrol guzzling 4-wheel drives of the rich. Could it be due to smuggling etc? Now that seems more credible.

Same case with water shortage issue. The common people are always being blamed for 'wasting water' when the fact is that it is the industries that really use up tonnes of water - but they are never blamed.

Anonymous said...

The unseen balancing factor to the equation of high per capita consumption perhaps is the mass smuggling of fuel out of the country.

Some investigative journalism not long ago suggested that unrest in Southern Thailand was intensified by those smuggling rings trying to create lasting chaos to facilitate their smuggling activities.

Anonymous said...

income tax reduce also, right?