Najib: GST has strengthened economy and stopped ringgit's slide

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14: PUTRAJAYA- Prime Minister Najib Razak officiates at Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre ground-breaking ceremony at New KL ATCC site, KLIA (near the KLIA helipad area) at 0900 (0100 GMT)' KUALA LUMPUR- RAM-PEFINDO Asean Fixed Income Conference, Emerald Room, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur at 0900 (0100 GMT) KUALA LUMPUR- Sunway Property 2017 Business Update and Media Gathering, Sunway Velocity Sales Gallery, V02-G-02 & 03, Lingkaran SV Sunway Velocity, Jalan Peel, Kuala Lumpur at 1030(0230 GMT) KUALA LUMPUR- Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi attends Hi-Tea hosted by Utusan Melayu Veterans Club & Tribute to Allahyarham Ahmad Bin Idris (ABI) at Dewan Utusan, Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad, 46M Jalan Lima Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin, Kuala Lumpur at 1415 (0615 GMT)

PUTRAJAYA: The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has strengthened the economy and prevented the ringgit from further weakening, said the Prime Minister.  

At the Bank Negara board meeting Monday, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he was informed that without GST, the country's deficit "would be at 6% or 7%" instead of the existing 3.5%.