Speech By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng During The DAP Pahang State Ordinary Convention In Bentong, On 25.10.2015.
By not abolishing GST, reduce petrol price, freeze toll hike and outline concrete measures to restore the value of the ringgit, the 2016 Budget will not overcome Malaysia’s economic crisis nor improve the living standards of the rakyat. Press reports widely of Budget 2016 admitting that the GST rescued the Federal government from bankruptcy and of not having enough money to pay civil servants, caused by reduced revenue following low global commodity and petroleum prices.
GST helped the Federal government to collect an expected sum of RM39 billion next year, which would be a net extra amount of RM21 billion collected, after taking into account revenue lost following the abolition of sales and services tax to make way of GST. It is this extra RM21 billion collected from 30 million Malaysians, not from rich crony companies in petroleum or toll companies, that has saved the government.
The 2016 Budget is just a cosmetic packaging exercise to give back some benefits after having taken an extra RM21 billion from ordinary Malaysians. In actual fact the RM39 billion is taken directly from the rakyat as compared to the abolished RM18 billion from the sales and services tax, which was taken from businesses. In other words, 30 million Malaysians are directly impacted in paying RM39 billion because of GST as compared to the previous scenario before GST where only businesses pay RM18 billion.
GST has caused ordinary Malaysians to suffer, not enough money for daily necessities and expenditure and even price rises. The 2016 Budget claims to give back to ordinary Malaysians. However the net effect of giving back to ordinary Malaysians can be seen by the Federal government revenue estimates that cost only RM764 million. What type of goodies budget is this that take RM39 billion directly from the rakyat or RM21 billion net from the rakyat but gives back only RM764 million? Based on the net figure of RM21 billion extra GST revenue, this is just like BN taking back RM26 from the rakyat but giving back only RM 1!
How does the Federal government intend to lessen the burden of the rakyat when toll hikes are announced and petrol prices is increased despite the drop in international oil prices? Will the Budget 2016 help to restore the value of the ringgit? Will BN admit that the Budget 2016 is a failure if the ringgit value does not bounce back to RM3.70-3.80 to 1US$ from the present RM4.30?
How does the 2016 Budget address the increased federal government debt that has risen from RM266 billion at end 2007 to RM627.5 billion as at June 2015? If contingent liabilities are included, the federal government debt is expected to reach RM800 billion by end 2016, which would mean that Federal government debt would have risen almost 3 times in 9 years!
Whatever goodies are given to the rakyat under the 2016 Budget, are these goodies sufficient to overcome the higher cost of living following the implementation of GST. Many have said that life was better without the GST. I am sure the rakyat will prefer not having these 2016 Budget goodies if they can also not have the GST. That is the difference between BN and Pakatan Harapan’s Budget proposal to save the economy by abolishing GST, freezing toll hikes, reducing petrol prices and resolving the RM42 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion donation scandals to restore the value of the ringgit.
LIM GUAN ENG
—–Mandarin—-
民主行动党秘书长兼峇眼区国会议员林冠英于2015年10月25日在文冬的彭亨州行动党党员代表大会上发表演讲：
只要联邦政府不废除消费税、降低油价、冻结过路费及列出让令吉恢复价值的具体措施，2016年财政预算案将不会解决马来西亚的经济危机，也无法提高人民的生活水平。
只要联邦政府不废除消费税、降低油价、冻结过路费及列出让马币价值回稳的具体措施，2016年财政预算案将不会解决马来西亚的经济危机，也无法提高人民的生活水平。新闻报道在2016年财政预算案的报道中承认，消费税解救了由全球原产品及石油价格走势低迷所导致的联邦政府破产危机、当局原本甚至可能没有办法支付公务员薪水。
明年，政府预计明年可在消费税取得390亿令吉的收入，比起销售与服务税的180亿令吉，多了210亿令吉。这笔向3000万名马来西亚人口征收的210亿令吉解救了政府，而不是富有的朋党石油公司或大道公司。
2016年预算案里派的糖果，只是联邦政府在拿走了普通老百姓的210亿令吉后的粉饰配套。事实上，比起已经废除、向商家收取的销售及服务税所能征收的180亿令吉，政府实际上从人民中袋取走390亿令吉。换句话说，马来西亚人民在消费税实施后，直接支付了390亿令吉，比起之前商家只需要缴付180亿令吉。
消费税导致普通老百姓受苦，不够钱应付日常开销甚至百物上涨。2016年预算案口口声声说归还人民，但是，从联邦政府税收中回馈给人民的数额约7亿6400万令吉而已。从人民口袋拿走390亿令吉或净收210亿，但只是归还7亿6400万令吉，这算什么糖果预算案？若依据210亿令吉的消费税净收入，相等于国阵向人民拿了26令吉，却只归还1令吉给人民。
大道过路费上调、汽油价格上涨（尽管全球油价走势下调），联邦政府要怎样减轻人民负担？2016年财政预算案有没有办法上马币价格回升？如果马币价格没有从目前的一美元兑4.30令吉，回升至3.70-80的情况，国阵会不会承认2016年预算案是一个失败的预算案。
2016年财政预算案如何应对联邦政府节节上升的债务？政府债务从2007年底的2600亿令吉，增加至2015年6月的6275亿令吉。如果把或有负债算进去，到了2016年，联邦政府的债务将高达8000亿令吉，这意味着联邦政府的债务在9年内上升了3倍！
无论政府在2016年财政预算案中派什么糖果，这些糖果是否足够让人民应付消费税实施后百物上涨的困境。很多人说没有消费税之前日子比较好过。我相信，如果人民可以不要消费税，他们宁可没有2016年预算案的糖果。这就是国阵及希望联盟预算案的差别，希望联盟预算案志在拯救经济，废除消费税、冻结过路费上调、降低油价、解决一马机构420亿令吉金融丑闻及26亿捐款丑闻，以让马币价格回升。
林冠英