Kuala Lumpur – MIC Treasurer General Datuk Seri S.Vel Paari has criticised the alternative 2018 budget presented by the Pakatan Harapan opposition saying it is populist but very short of substance. The following is the press statement released by him yesterday:-
- “I refer to a recent article published in The Star Online where Pakatan Harapan had shared their alternative budget for 2018. After going through the article, I can conclude that Pakatan Harapan’s alternative budget is populist but very short of substance. This clearly shows that the budget was done haphazardly without any serious thoughts to it. The populist budget from Pakatan Harapan is just to gain support from the rakyat and they know that their budget is not sustainable.”
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/25/pakatan-unveils-alternative-budget-says-will-eliminate-gst/
- “First, the promise of Pakatan Harapan is to abolish the Goods and Services Tax (GST) if it wins the next general election. This does not make sense as GST contributes approximately RM 42 Billion to the government and by eliminating GST, the government loses a very important revenue stream. To replace GST with SST also does not make sense as most countries around the world (168 countries and counting) had changed from SST to GST while Pakatan Harapan are regressing backwards by going back to SST with a lower revenue for the government.”
Source : https://www.aseanlip.com/malaysia/tax/news/government-to-collect-rm42-billion-in-gst-this-year/AL12273
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/09/13/customs-dg-slams-ph-proposal-to-reinstate-sst/
- “Secondly, the promise to abolish all tolls in this country also does not make sense is just a lie to woo the rakyat to vote Pakatan Harapan in the next General Election. As a reference case, Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) and Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor (KPS) Berhad owns 30% stake in Syarikat konsesi Lebuhraya Kesas and 20% in Syarikat konsesi Lebuhraya Sprint. If Pakatan Harapan is really serious and against toll roads in this country, they shall first start to relinquish their stakes in these two highways rather than profiteering from it. Why have they not done so?””
Source : http://m.utusan.com.my/berita/nasional/sukar-turunkan-tol-kesas-sprint-1.146959
- “Thirdly, the promise of Pakatan Harapan to provide free education is also shallow and another form of a lie by the opposition. A reference case will be Universiti Selangor (UNISEL) which is owned by the Selangor State Government. If Pakatan Harapan is really serious about providing free education, why have they not started providing free education in UNISEL? Pakatan Harapan shall walk the talk by providing free education in their state first before trying to hoodwink the rakyat.”
Source : https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universiti_Selangor
- “Finally, I firmly believe that the alternative budget produced by Pakatan Harapan is irresponsible, unsustainable, and definitely populist. In short, it is an election budget without taking into consideration the economic realities of the world economy and was done just to woo voters in the coming general election.”
