Harga kad prabayar ‘tetap naik’, menteri memihak kartel telco...
Setiausaha Publisiti Kebangsaan DAP itu berkata, ini kerana Timbalan Menteri Kewangan Ahmad Maslan sebelum ini mengumumkan harga kad prabayar tidak naik dan akan dikuatkuasa pada 1 Mei.
Namun kata Tony, kenyataan kedua Menteri itu bercanggah antara satu sama lain.
“Syarikat-syarikat telekomunikasi tidak menurunkan semula harga pra GST kad prabayar semalam. Shabery Cheek juga mempertahankan mereka dan mendakwa penurunan harga itu agak mustahil dilaksanakan kerana kerumitan mengubah sistem perisian.
“Shabery Cheek ‘menang’ dalam mempertahankan syarikat telco. Ini benar-benar tamparan hebat kepada rakyat Malaysia ekoran pelaksanaan GST. Alasan menteri itu semuanya adalah omong kosong saja,” jelas Tony.
Menurutnya syarikat telekomunikasi bersikap seperti sebuah kartel dalam menggunakan cukai sebagai cara mencatut dengan alasan pelaksanaan GST.
Ujarnya, di bawah pentadbiran sebelum Perdana Menteri Najib Tun Razak, pengguna hanya membayar RM 9.43 untuk mendapat nilai perkhidmatan sebanyak RM 10 ringgit bagi satu kad prabayar.
Namun sekarang tanpa mengambil kira cukai, pengguna terpaksa membayar enam peratus lebih dari RM10 yang dibayar bagi perkhidmatan tambah nilai bernilai RM 10.
Tony turut menyelar kenyataan Najib yang menggesa pihak berkuasa bertegas terhadap peniaga-peniaga yang kononnya memanipulasi GST bagi mendapatkan keuntungan, namun dalam masa yang sama tidak bertindak kepada syarikat-syarikat besar.
“Kenapa pihak berkuasa dibenarkan bertegas kepada peniaga biasa yang terpaksa menaikkan harganya kerana GST?
“Kenapa syarikat telco yang besar-besar secara semberono menaikkan harga, mendapat untung lebih menggunakan alasan GST namun dilayan dengan begitu baik?
“Najib mesti hentikan dasar layanan tidak adil yang hanya memihak syarikat besar.
“Akta anti-pencatutan mesti dikuatkuasa secara adil terhadap peniaga yang menaikkan harga selepas GST, selain tegas terhadap syarikat-syarikat besar tidak bertanggungjawab yang mendapat untung berbilion ringgit,” tegas Tony. – Roketkini.com
Don't pass buck on telco GST, Najib told...
“Isn’t GST enforced under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance?
"Why
did Najib pass the buck to the Ministry of Communications and
Multimedia, which only deals with telecommunications companies and has
no power on taxation?” PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad asked in a
statement today.Nik Nazmi (right) speculates that this could be because Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan had failed to implement the GST.
Previously, the Royal Customs Department and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) issued contradictory statements on the new prices of top-up cards for prepaid mobile services, backed by their respective ministers, Ahmad and Shabery.
The Customs Department said telecommunications companies should revert the top-ups to pre-GST prices, whereas the MCMC said the present prices would stay in place because it was too complicated to comply with the Customs Department’s directive by May 1.
'Ahmad's failure is PM's failure as well'
Najib, who is also the prime minister, in a Twitter posting later, ordered Shabery to take charge of the issue.
“Ahmad’s failure should be counted as the prime minister’s failure as well. Instead of dealing with the matter himself, he only passed the responsibility to another minister,” Nik Nazmi said.
Separately, Petaling Jaya MP Tony Pua slammed Shabery for defending the government’s decision to collect GST on prepaid mobile services.
Shabery (right) was quoted by Utusan Malaysia
as saying that the government could lose RM800 million in tax revenue a
year if it does not collect the tax from the phone users.“Ahmad Shabery was disingenuous because the controversy was never about GST being imposed on prepaid mobile services. No one is asking for the prepaid mobile services to be zero-rated.
“The issue is on telecommunication companies taking advantage of the implementation of GST to raise prices by six percent,” Pua said.
He said under the previous sales and services tax, consumers would pay RM9.43 (plus RM0.57 as tax) to receive RM10 worth of mobile services, but are now forced to fork out RM10 (plus RM0.60 tax) for RM10 worth of services under the GST scheme.
“It is unfortunate that the MCMC, which is supposed to act as the regulator to protect the interests of consumers and ensure competitive practices by telecommunication companies, is instead defending the profiteering activities of these companies…
“Ahmad Shabery must take cognisance that the same Anti-Profiteering Act must be imposed equally and fairly on petty traders deemed unscrupulous for raising prices post-GST, as it must be imposed on the unscrupulous telecommunications companies trampling on the Act despite making billions of ringgit in profits,” Pua added. - mk
Ismail Sabri accused of threats and bribes...
Its vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar claims that Ismail Sabri had warned voters not to choose its candidate Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail when Permatang Pauh on polling day on May 7.
Nurul Izzah urged the Election Commission (EC) to probe Ismail Sabri for "bribery and threats" for his statement in Permatang Pauh yesterday.
She said it is the EC's responsibility to ensure that by-elections are not tarnished by threats and bribery."We condemn such remarks as totally unacceptable and arrogant," Nurul said at a press conference at Yayasan Aman in Bukit Mertajam today.
She said Ismail Sabri's remarks are in direct violation of the Election Act, which deals with bribery and threats before, during, and after elections.
"We urge voters to reject such threats which is part of BN's dirty tactics in the by-election campaign," she stressed.
Nurul Izzah was referring to a report in The Malaysian Insider which quoted Ismail as saying that "applications for agricultural funds and projects in Permatang Pauh will not be approved if Pakatan Rakyat wins the by-election again".
Ismail reportedly said this in his speech in Kuala Mengkuang polling district while accompanying BN candidate Suhaimi Sabudin on the campaign trail yesterday.
Wan Azizah and Suhaimi are contesting against two other candidates - Parti Rakyat Malaysia's Azman Shah Othman and Independent Salleh Isahak for the parliamentary seat.
Courting trouble again
Ismail Sabri had reportedly said that only Suhaimi would be able to bring the people's issues to Parliament.
"This is an agricultural area. I will surely approve if it is Suhaimi who is making the applications," he was quoted as saying.
"If it is (PKR's president and candidate Datuk Seri Dr) Wan Azizah (Wan Ismail), she will not even get past my office lobby.
"There is no reason for me to see her. She is from the opposition," Ismail was quoted in the report.Ismail Sabri had courted trouble in February when he said that Malays should boycott Chinese traders for unreasonably raising prices of goods in the market.
Accompanying Nurul at the press briefing are Penang executive council member Dr Afif Bahardin, Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim, and DAP's Teluk Intan candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.
Afif said Ismail and his ilk in BN who play such ancient politics are "rude", especially to the farmers who toil and sweat on the land.
"Ismail has insulted the dignity of farmers, especially the padi farmers, by threatening them not to vote for PKR," he said.
"I believe voters here are aware of what is going on and can evaluate the situation on their own," he added.
Meanwhile, Afif said unlike Ismail Sabri, the Penang government does not practise discrimination when it comes to handing out allocations to farmers.
"Whether the farmers are from Umno, PAS, or PKR, we would still provide allocation to them if they need it," said the state exco member for agriculture, agro-based industries, rural development, and health.
"With such an attitude (as Umno's), it is no wonder that Ismail Sabri would not be defending padi farmers who suffer due to Bernas being monopolised by a business tycoon," he added.
Bernas is the national rice corporation and it controls trade for the staple in Malaysia.
"Enough with such dirty and bullying tactics in Permatang Pauh," Afif, who is also PKR national deputy youth chief, said.- mk
cheers.
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