KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians want mobile prepaid reloads to provide the same airtime value as the listed prices.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, speaking on TV1's talk show Suara Kita Hak Kita earlier tonight, said the proposal would be presented to the Cabinet next week.
"For instance, if we pay RM10, the available airtime should be RM10. This is an option that I have decided upon after engaging the public.
"I will meet the telcos' chief executive officers to discuss the matter. If everything goes well, we will make an announcement on the decision soon."
The talk show's special edition titled "#Top-up: Apa Isunya?" (#Top-up: What's the issue?) discussed the mobile prepaid reloads issue following the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1.
The first two options, he said were to maintain the selling price of mobile reload with a reduced talktime due to the 6 per cent GST, and to sell the reloads with the tax reflected in the price.
For instance, one option will see the reload card sold at RM10 but with RM9.43 airtime when activated. Another option would see reload cards with a value of RM10 sold at RM10.60.
The cabinet had on Apr 3 instructed the telcos to revert to the pre-GST prices for mobile reload cards by May 1.
However, Customs had announced the postponement to allow telcos to conduct a survey on whether their customers preferred lower values on which GST would be charged.
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had said that the telcos would not be able to configure their systems to exclude GST on May 1.