The first day of the of the GST in Malaysia has come and gone. Being the 1st of April, many even jokingly thought that it could be an elaborate April Fools joke by the government.
But of course it wasn't. It's just something that was bound to happen, and it eventually did and there is nothing anybody could do but just to accept it - just bite the bullet.
The reaction by Malaysians on the 31st of March 2015 reminded me of the 31st of December 1999 (yes, I'm that old to still clearly remember that far back!).
It was just one day before Y2K, and everyone was panicking because the reset of the digits in the year was thought to have the potential of causing a global meltdown.
People were scared that all the computer systems around the world would just go haywire and crash because the digital date would reset itself to the year 0000.
Large corporations (and even small ones who were too paranoid) started investing in all kinds of technological software patches that would apparently help to fix the bug.
Normal citizens started to even buying canned food in bulk from the supermarkets thinking they were preparing themselves for the unimaginable world apocalypse.
Then the day came, people went to work as usual, governments continued functioning, businesses and schools didn't cease to exist, and the day ended as usual like any other day.
And so it was exactly the same on the 1st of April 2015. People woke up and went on their day as normal, with just a little six percent increase in most of their daily financial transactions.
The days preceding it saw a little bit of panic (or denial!) where some folks started hoarding all kinds of processed food like sardines and the like and some supermarkets were a little packed.
I had to fill petrol for my car the night of the 31st of March and the queue at the petrol station was unusually long as people wanted to get their last fill GST free.
But honestly, what difference does it make if you do all this? You might save that six percent today, but only have to incur it for the rest of your life if you continue to live in the country.
On the morning of the first day of GST, some people posted pictures of the receipts of their first financial transactions with GST included on social media.
Some ranted saying that their daily expenses are now more expensive (one individual I saw even calculated that her normal daily breakfasts would cost her an additional RM76 a year).
But like any other major tax in the country (or any other country, for that matter), if used properly (a very important note!), will only benefit the citizens who are paying it.
And the GST is a tax that is more efficient and transparent in it’s collection, hence a majority of the governments in the world implement it.
I’m convinced that after a few months, Malaysians will slowly let it sink into their system and it will eventually become a normal part of daily life.
The most important thing for the government to do next is to show that the money will and is being used properly and for the benefit of the people.
Zan Azlee
Wed Apr 01 2015
Astro AWANI's Zan Azlee compares the reaction to GST as similar to the Y2K scare 15 years ago.
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