By Stephanie Sta Maria
KUALA LUMPUR: Do not mistake the postponement of the second tabling of the Good and Services Tax (GST) Bill as a policy U-turn, warned political analysts.
Professor James Chin of Monash University said that the government's explanation for the postponement is that elections are looming and it's afraid of rocking the boat.
“It's only a matter of time,” said Chin. "The government will bring in the GST in the near future."
Professor Johan Saravanamuthu of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Professor Lim Teck Ghee of the Centre of Policy Initiatives concurred.
Said Lim: “The way it (government) has worded the postponement indicates two things -- one, it's an admission that it hasn't engaged the public sufficiently, and two, it's insecure about its electoral strength.”
Added Saravanamuthu: “The Sarawak election is coming up and a snap general election is a possibility.
“When the government raised petrol prices before the 2008 election, it paid a heavy price; it doesn't want the GST to lead to a repeat of that (result).”
Pakatan Rakyat has called the postponement “an early success” in its quest to protect the welfare of the lower and middle class.
Lim agreed that there is some merit to this claim, while Chin attributed it to Pakatan's ploy to score points with the people.
Reputation dented
Lim also said that Pakatan has an equal responsibility, if not a greater one, in educating the people on the GST.
He commended the coalition for doing a good job in raising a wide range of issues to which the government needs to respond.
Saravanamuttu, however, felt that Pakatan's claim is a little exaggerated.
“Pakatan has been open about its views on the matter to the public,” he said. “But on bread-and- butter issues, people will know how it will affect them even without Pakatan's help.”
The government's latest move may seem to have the people's interests at heart but it doesn't augur well for its reputation.
When it boils down to walking the talk, the government has yet to put its best foot forward and Saravanamuttu was blunt in his appraisal.
“When you announce something this big without providing details of what to expect and then suddenly postpone it, it's very bad.
"It shows that an insecure, dithering government that doesn't have a proper plan for dealing with basic economic conditions,” he said.
However, Lim doesn't think the government's “fickleness” on the GST will cost it the next election because the people can be very forgiving and tend to have short memories.
“Whether this flip-flop will have any electoral impact depends on whether the opposition can make the public remember it when the voters get into the voting booths,” he said.
"And then the onus is on the government to prove that it can be fiscally responsible, transparent and accountable."
