By Ling Hui and Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Feb 10: The Sarawak government has agreed to abolish the sales tax imposed on tyres, says Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
In exchange for that sales tax abolishment, he said, tyre dealers or the private sector must think of ways to collect and recycle old tyres.
“About the sales tax on tyres, we (the Sarawak government) have decided to withdraw (revoke) the SST (state sales tax).
“But of course, it comes with a price. We need to find ways to collect the tyres (and recycle them) because tyres are not environmentally friendly,” he said.
Abang Johari suggested breaking down old tyres into small pieces or rubber pellets, which could be used to build roads.
“I read it in a journal about this technology. They break down tyres into pellets, rubber pellets and that can be used for road construction.
“So what you do, you can set up a factory to collect all the tyres and you break the old tyres into small pieces and use that to build roads.
“So that our roads are not bumpy,” he said during the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sarawak (ACCCIS) Chinese New Year grand dinner held at a local hotel tonight.
Earlier during ACCCIS’ courtesy visit to Abang Johari, ACCCIS had brought up the issue of sales tax imposition on imported tyres which is burdening many tyre dealers in the region. — DayakDaily
