GST proves to be unpopular topic at Workers’ Day gathering in Kuching 2015

GST proves to be unpopular topic at Workers’ Day gathering in Kuching 2015

BY SULOK TAWIE

KUCHING, May 1 — At a national-level Workers’ Day gathering here, the prime minister got a first-hand feel of how unpopular the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak was booed when he touched briefly on the GST when addressing the crowd at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.

  “The GST is for the good of the country’s development,” he said. This was immediately greeted by boos from some workers in the back of the hall.
Unperturbed, Najib carried on with his speech.
“We have no intention to burden the people. We are always looking at ways and means to help them,” he said, adding the government would take care of the welfare of the workers in the country accordingly.
“If our country is getting wealthy and our national income increases, we want all workers to benefit.
“Without the role played by the workers, our country will not succeed or become more wealthy,” he said.
Asked to comment on the behaviour of the workers later, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot said, “The word GST, I think, is very unpopular with the people, but the blame must be on the traders for the rise in prices of many goods.”
He said over 2,000 goods are not covered by GST, but the traders charged six per cent GST across the board on all goods.
“My point is that GST is a good policy, but the traders are manipulating it to make more profit, even on goods which are not covered by GST,” he said.
He felt that the government, especially the Customs Department, needs to explain more on the implementation of GST.

“But then again, no amount of explanation will be enough as long as the traders continue to manipulate GST to make more profits,” he said.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/gst-proves-to-be-unpopular-topic-at-workers-day-gathering-in-kuching

Confidence in Sarawak

Confidence in Sarawak
The State Government spoke highly of SCORE and almost everybody in Barisan Nasional spoke about that. It looks as if the success or failure of Sarawak lays entirely on SCORE.
But the people are leaving Sarawak. Why? The answer is simple. Jobs are scarce in Sarawak. There is poverty in all races, especially among the natives. Corruption prevails in Sarawak. The rich had become richer, and the poor had become poorer.
In November 2011, I said in this House, “Close to 100,000 natives and anak anak Sarawak left Sarawak because they lost faith in Sarawak, as they seek employment in Singapore, Johore and Klang Valley. If development distribution is equitable, the children of Sarawak will not have to leave their homeland. Many Sarawakians who have better brains also lose faith in the State. They have left to find greener pastures elsewhere.”
In his winding up speech, the Right Hounourable Chief Minister disagreed with my figure. He indicated that I should prove this statistics. Here I am, I am now going to prove it. Tuan Speaker, I am now going to prove it with the figures supplied to Members of Parliament in the answer on 16th March, 2011.
In 1970, Sarawak had a population of 976,269. That represents 9.35% of the nation’s population of 10,439,430. In 1980, 10 years later, Sarawak’s population was 1.2 million. That represents 9.16% of the nation’s population of 13.1 million. In 1991 Sarawak population was 1.6 million, representing 9.09% of the total population of 17.6 million. In 2000, Sarawak’s population of 2,012,616 was only 9.06% of the nation’s total of 22,202,614. In 2010, Sarawak has a population of 2,420,009. That represents a mere 8.78% of the nation’s total of 27,565,821.
The important question we must ask is this, why has the percentage of population growth in Sarawak reducing, decreasing all the time when the national population growth is increased. The answer is simple, have we maintained 1970 figure, 9.35% and then by the year 2010, Sarawak should have a population of 2,577,404. There is a difference of 157,395 people. Where are they? They have sought a greener pasture outside Sarawak.
I was being conservative when I said that “close to 100,000” “Dayaks and anak anak Sarawak” have left a greener pasture outside Sarawak.

http://holeng.dapsarawak.com/?p=1733#more-1733

Borneo Post International Education Fair

The 3rd Edition of the Borneo Post International Education Fair (BPIEF) draws near. Touted as Borneo’s home grown premier education fair, BPIEF will be at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching on March 3 and 4, 2012.

BPIEF will showcase education institutions and training providers from across Malaysia and from overseas.

Students who have just finished their higher secondary school education are at a crucial crossroads in their life. They have to decide the direction they want to take in life, to enter the job market or continue their studies in institutions of higher learning.

For those who wish to continue their studies, the BPIEF 2012 will be of tremendous help in giving them the opportunity to make informed choices on suitable courses to take and thus determine their career paths.

This also goes for those who are working. Education is a lifelong process and working adults should check out the institutions under the BPIEF umbrella and grab the opportunities available to get themselves certified or to gain advance knowledge.

This year, BPIEF will also see early childhood education providers participating in its effort to have a comprehensive showcase on education matters. Sarawak places great emphasis on early education as the young children are our future. No child should be left out.

BPIEF 2011 saw over 90 educational, training and support institutions participating in the education fair.

Under the patronage umbrella of YB Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development and with the strong support from the Human, Resource & Quality Unit of the Chief Minister’s Department and the State Education Department, BPIEF is part of Borneo Post’s corporate social responsibility in bringing key providers and institutions in the education spectrum under one roof to the locals and visitors from the region.

Participating Countries

http://www.bpief.com/