By Karen Bong
KUCHING, May 30: If opposition representatives genuinely want to fulfil their role as a check and balance, they should question the federal government on why government agencies are still required to pay eight per cent Sales and Service Tax (SST) when implementing projects for the benefit of the people.
Raising this when speaking during the latest episode of the ShallWeeTalk live programme today, Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap argued that oppositions have focused too much on criticising local councils and issuing press statements instead of raising substantive issues affecting local authorities and taxpayers.
“When I implement a project through MBKS for example, do you know that we still have to pay eight per cent SST to the federal government?
“Why should a government agency implementing projects for the benefit of the people still have to pay taxes? The Sarawak government has already allocated funds to solve problems faced by the people, but from there, eight per cent is still taken away as tax,” he said.
Yap said local authorities such as Kuching South City Council (MBKS) are government agencies carrying out projects on behalf of elected representatives and for public benefit, not for profit-making purposes.
“If I were a member of Parliament (MP), I would definitely ask the federal government why local authorities and government agencies need to pay taxes when implementing projects for the people.
“If you truly want to do checks and balances, this is one of the areas you can look into. We should ask the federal government why they are imposing this tax on us,” he said in responding to criticisms by opposition representatives who frequently claim to be acting as a check and balance on Sarawak.
He pointed out that drainage matters fall under the Concurrent List in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, making them the shared responsibility of both the federal and State governments.
According to him, opposition lawmakers, particularly MPs, should be fully aware of these constitutional responsibilities and use their positions to secure greater allocations and policy changes that benefit constituents.
“We pay SST, income tax and stamp duty, and all these are collected by the federal government. Where does the money go? If there are issues affecting local authorities and the people, these are matters that MP should also raise,” he said.
Yap stressed that genuine checks and balances involve identifying problems, securing funding, monitoring project implementation and ensuring public funds are used effectively.
“Checks and balances do not mean simply issuing press statements whenever there is a problem. That is political theatrics.
“If you identify a problem, find the allocation, secure the funding, implement the project and then monitor it. If that is what you call checks and balances, I will give you 100 humbs up,” he added.
Meanwhile, MBKS Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng said the council often finds itself having to clarify misinformation after being criticised, stressing that such clarifications are necessary to prevent the public from being misled.
“It is not fair when people are given the wrong information and then everything becomes misleading. Those who are actually doing the work end up being portrayed as though they have done something wrong,” he said.
Wee emphasised that MBKS responds to issues based on facts rather than personalities, adding that the council has never made a habit of attacking political opponents.
He also questioned whether elected representatives should be judged solely by their activity on social media.
“People elected representatives not just to talk, do publicity or conduct checks and balances on Facebook.What have you actually done so far? These are the things you need to show the people. Your report card should demonstrate what you have done, not simply point fingers at something,” he said. — DayakDaily
