GE14 | The proposal for the implementation of the GST was actually raised when Daim Zainuddin was finance minister but the government did not have the courage to do so, international trade and industry minister Mustapa Mohamed said today.

According to Mustapa, Daim was also involved in the study on the implementation of the tax due to the small national income at that time.

"The government at that time had made a decision to implement GST, but it did not have the courage to do so and only Najib Abdul Razak dared to implement it," he told reporters after visiting the Air Lanas Farmers' Market here today.

Mustapa, who is also BN candidate for Jeli and Air Lanas, said the implementation of the GST was of great benefit as it made the tax system more transparent and fair and could detect large companies which did not pay taxes.

"The six percent rate imposed by the government is also one of the lowest compared to other countries and it is beneficial to the country for the long term despite the pressure in the three years it was implemented.

"I'm confident the people will accept the GST because the government needs to find financial resources to provide facilities for the people. As a modern government, we are implementing (the GST) for the long-term, so I hope the opposition pact should not politicise this issue," he said.

He said this to rap the former finance minister for giving a negative impression of the implementation of the GST since April 1, 2015.

Meanwhile, Mustapa said the existence of the farmer's market had benefited the community, especially in rural areas.

"The people can buy goods at reasonable prices specifically for items of need such as food and vegetables, and their sales had also reached hundreds of thousands of ringgit a month.

"The prices offered are reasonable because traders get their supplies from farmers around the district, thus rising prices can be controlled to stabilise the cost of living," he said.

- Bernama