According to Malaysian prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the government is committed to keeping inflation within a manageable range so that the rakyat will not be burdened by the high cost of goods and services.

In fact, despite the increase in the Sales and Service Tax or SST rate from 6 percent to 8 percent since March 1, 2024, it has only had a minimal impact on inflation which increased by a mere 0.2 percent.

Analysts contend that the reason for this is because the policy change only involves the service tax, while the sales tax remains within the existing scope and tax rate and the scope of service tax is narrow affecting only 4 percent of services in the economy.

These prudent measures also witnessed the expenses of people on food and beverages and telecommunications have not increased and remain at the flat rate of 6 percent and utility expenses such as water and petrol remain untaxed.

In addition, according to Datuk Anwar, the government is committed to helping the rakyat by a planned increase in Rahmah Cash Aid and for this year alone the amount allocated has breached the figure of RM10 billion.

With inflation well managed, Datuk Anwar hopes that he can focus on his twin prong strategy of building the economy and combating corruption which is widely to be blamed for a malignant economy.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE