KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should not rule out bringing back the Goods and Services Tax (GST) if a thorough assessment finds that it is the right policy for the country’s future, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said policymakers should not be afraid to put forward bold ideas, including revisiting previously implemented policies if necessary.
“If GST is assessed as the right step for the future of the country, we should refine it, and we should reintroduce it,” he said in his keynote address at the 12th Barisan Nasional Forum themed Agenda Malaysia Biru here last night.
Ahmad Zahid said the wider discussion on Malaysia’s economic future must also move beyond headline growth figures to ensure ordinary Malaysians can accumulate wealth.
He said economic expansion alone was insufficient if families continued to feel left behind because their incomes were exhausted by monthly expenses, leaving them without assets to pass on to the next generation.
“Jobs and premium wages must be accompanied by opportunities for them to own homes, build savings, hold equity and grow businesses,” he said.
He said access to capital and ownership opportunities should be widened so that more Malaysians had a direct stake in the country’s economic wealth.
Through Agenda Malaysia Biru, he said, more families across racial lines should be able to establish a strong financial foundation and acquire assets that could be inherited by their children.
“Prosperity must be measured not only by how much people earn but also by how much they are able to own,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said education, research and industry must work together to ensure that Malaysian talent can turn innovation into commercially successful products and enterprises, allowing more value generated by local expertise to remain in the country.
He also said Malaysia needed to prepare for future disruptions rather than repeatedly forming task forces or commissions only after crises occurred.
“Economic prosperity built over years could quickly be eroded by disasters, food supply disruptions or other shocks.
“The country therefore has to strengthen the resilience of its food, water, energy and medical supplies, while preparing infrastructure for economic, climate and external shocks,” he said, adding that these proposals will form part of a broader Agenda Malaysia Biru blueprint to be further developed with experts and other stakeholders.
