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Govt did not say prices won't increase after SST - Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR: The government recognises there are weaknesses within the Sales of Services Tax (SST) system, as it was implemented only two months after the Goods and Services Tax was abolished.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said however, the government was able to make sure the impact of price hikes today was lower than during the previous taxation system.

"Through the implementation of SST, the government did not say prices would not increase. It (price increase) is happening but the impact is lower.

"This is proven through the inflation rate that was recorded in 2018, which is one per cent compared to 3.7 per cent during the GST era.

"The challenge now is to ensure that the cost of living will be reduced and the people can benefit from a lower Consumer Price Index (CPI)," he said during a press conference after launching Razer's new headquarters here today.

Present were Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, and Razer chief executive officer and co-founder Min Lian Tan.

Lim said his ministry would hold a meeting with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers to study the complaints on price hikes.

"The government wants to understand this issue better and discuss with business operators about complaints on increased operational costs because all this have not been explained with facts," he said.

Meanwhile, gaming peripherals company Razer opened its new headquarters here, which can house more than 280 staff members at UOA Corporate Towers.

Min said Razer decided to invest in Malaysia as it was widely regarded as a financial and technology hub in Southeast Asia.

"Razer has launched an e-wallet app for youths in the country last year, known as Razer Pay. It recorded more than 500,000 new registered users in less than a week.

"This month, we will add more features to the application like coupons and instant orders," he said.

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