Inflation, rising living costs must be addressed before calling GE15: PM

KUALA LUMPUR – Spiralling food prices and the soaring costs of living have been earmarked by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as reasons to resist calling for the 15th general election (GE15) anytime soon. 

“We will have to wait for the right time (to call the election). We are now facing a period of increasing inflation with high prices…Do you think this is the right time?” he was quoted as saying in an interview with Nikkei Asia. 

There have been rumours of Umno looking to solidify its position in local politics by calling for polls this year, also partly aimed at leveraging on their impressive performances at several recent state elections, especially in Melaka and Johor. 

Ismail Sabri’s government has until the middle of next year to dissolve Parliament and call for elections, but observers are convinced Barisan Nasional-flagship Umno’s current leadership is pushing for an earlier date. 

When pressed for an estimated time frame on when he plans to call for polls, Ismail Sabri again remained coy. 

“The election cannot be delayed further than the timeline set in the constitution, but to make it earlier, we have to look at the current situation. 

“God willing, I’ll make the move at the right time,” he was quoted saying in the report. 

GST to make a comeback?

Separately, the prime minister also commented on the government mulling the reintroduction of the goods and services tax (GST). 

He conceded that efforts to increase awareness of the tax form among the public must first be intensified before it can be implemented. 

“We lost RM20 billion in annual revenue when we abolished the GST and replaced it with the old sales and services tax (SST). No country in the world has reverted back from GST to SST, except for Malaysia,” he said, commenting on the U-turn taken by the Pakatan Harapan government after it won federal power in May 2018.

“(But), if we are going to reintroduce the GST, we have to educate the people to accept it,” he said. 

Ismail Sabri added the government would aim to implement a tax rate that is not too high that it burdens the people, but not too low that it “defeats the purpose of expanding tax revenue”.

In March, the Finance Ministry had said the government was still studying the suitability of implementing the GST, along with the usage of other taxation models. 

It had said the study took into consideration all aspects, including the weaknesses of the existing SST, as well as the GST which was implemented in 2015 only to be terminated three years later. – The Vibes, May 31, 2022