PSM is also angered by the comment of the Minister Shafie Apdal who said that the Orang Asli were not protesting but just sightseeing. This kind of comments shows the lack of respect on the part of the Minister and his attitude towards the plight of this community.

The Orang Asli is the most deprived community in our country. They experience continuous oppression by the State as well as by developers out to rape and grab their land. It is heartening to see after all these years, thousands of Orang Asli marching in Putrajaya and demanding what is rightfully thiers.

PSM is worried that the proposed new planned amendment to the Aboriginal People’s Act would be yet be another act of grabbing land. The amendments propose that each family be given two to six acres of land and this scheme is designed to make the community lose more lands.

It is sad that the Government always reacts and backtracks when they should have started consultation first before deciding. The Orang Asli community rights over their land must be recognized and the Government must respect this rights and discuss with the community with respect.

PSM stand united and in solidarity. We call upon the Government to stop the exploitation and honor the demands.

S.Arutchelvan
Secretary General
Tel -019-2537791

• Jeyakumar Devaraj, MP Sungai Siput
• Nasir Hashim, Kota Damansara State Assemblyman
• S. Arutchelvan, Kajang Local Councillor
• Pannerselvam Varathan, PJ Local Councillor
• Sivarajan Arumugam, Shah Alam Local Councillor

Kuala Lumpur, 18 March 2010

To prove that PSM walks the talk, its National Chairperson and Kota Damansara State Assemblyman, Dr. Nasir Hashim and PSM’s sole Parliamentarian Dr. Jeyakumar along with the party’s three councillors declared their assets. The modest ceremony was held at the KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. The Statutory Declaration was made available to the members of the press.

Besides declaring the assets, PSM also revealed their one year performance at the two constituencies it won- Sungai Siput and Kota Damansara as well as its performance at the National level. This declaring of assets and presentation of performance has now become a routine for the party since the 2008 elections. It was indeed PSM’s 2008 election manifesto “ Together we built the Peoples Power”(Bersama membina kuasa rakyat) in which PSM made the pledge to declare assets on a yearly basis.

This also makes PSM the only party to do so in today’s political scenario when politicians are often critiqued for being corrupted. It also puts PSM above the other parties as far as principles and transparency is concerned. According to PSM’s Secretary General, S.Arutchelvan we do this every year so that the public can scrutinize if we have become suddenly rich after holding public positions.

According Dr. Jeyakumar, the party requires us to part 40% of our income but we have been doing more than that. It is our attitude and our struggle which motivates other party members and the society at large. In the absence of real work, grassroots activism and sacrifices, people will think we just earn a lot and it is time to pay back. PSM for the record has very strong party positions and standards and this was outlined by the Secretary General.

These positions are what is expected to be done on the ground and what commitment needs to be given at a personal level. Among these are:

1. Building a society which is not cultured to be dependent on subsidies and allocation but a society which is built on principles and peoples power.
2. PSM leaders must play a role in eradicating feudalistic relationship with the people. Party leaders should reject VIP treatments, live a simple life and always be seen as being able to be approached by the rakyat. The people must respect them for the work they do and not merely the positions they hold.
3. PSM leaders who hold public positions cannot be Directors of Profit orientated Cooperate Bodies.
4. Service centre must be open at all areas irrespective if the party won or lost and elected reps must make themselves available at the Service Centre once a week.
5. Elected party members can be recalled by members if there under perform at any time of their term.
6. Aspiring candidates for General Election must have served in a constituency for a period not less than 5 years. PSM strongly rejects parachute candidates.

The last one year also saw PSM leading the campaign in many areas. PSM played very prominent role in the GST campaign, in opposing the privatization of public health care, free education and call for better wages and the implementation of the minimum wage act. PSM also had dialogues with the National Bank as well as the PM Department on issues of loans restructuring and making easy loans available.

One member of the media said that he felt humbled by the revelation made by PSM leaders and Dr. Nasir answered him by saying, “we come in poor and we go out poor”. On the question on whether PSM would join Pakatan, Dr. Jeyakumar said that we are a Pakatan friendly party and we march with PR. We support PR’s reform agenda but we also against capitalism and neo-liberal policies.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) may consider joining the opposition coalition if it agrees to the party’s manifesto.

PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan (right) said, “We will support the Pakatan Rakyat in both the state assembly and parliament. However, if the coalition puts forward motions which are against the principles of PSM, “we will oppose strongly,” he said while talking to reporters after the annual asset declaration ceremony today at Chinese Assembly Hall.

He added that although currently cooperation with the Pakatan Rakyat is minimal, PSM may join forces with the former in future if it is willing to struggle for free higher education and fight against the privatisation of hospitals.

Having said that, he reaffirmed the party’s support for Pakatan in issues such as Good and Services Tax (GST), local government elections and the abolishment of Internal Security Act. (ISA).

Kota Damansara state assembyman Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim, Sungai Siput parliamentarian Dr Michael D Jeyakumar, Shah Alam city councillor A Sivarajan and Petaling Jaya city councillor V Panneerselvam were also present at the event.

Asset Declaration

Dr Mohd Nasir, who is also the party chairperson declared a total of RM40,000 in fixed assets, RM6,000 in savings and a monthly income of RM12,312.79 from pension and state assemblyperson’s monthly remuneration.

The Sungai Siput parliamentarian disclosed RM132,000 in fixed assets, RM28,000 in savings and shares and monthly income of RM12,950.

Party’s secretary-general Arutchelvan, however, declared RM77,500 in total assets, RM9,186.78 in savings and fixed deposit and RM3,750 as monthly income.

“As you can see, we have nothing much in terms of assets or savings. So, people should change their perception that politicians are rich,” said Dr Jeyakumar.

He added that only politicians under the ruling party could accumulate wealth as they are awarded contracts and other extra ‘incentives’.

Both Dr Jeyakumar and Dr Nasir also submitted a report card each on the annual performance of the party in their respective constituencies.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) akan mengadakan Majlis Pengistiharan harta Ahli Parlimen, DUN dan Ahli Majlis PSM disamping Laporan prestasi dua wakil Sosialis yang dipilih ke Parlimen dan DUN dua tahun yang lalu.  Ini merupakan satu janji yang telah dibuat oleh PSM semasa pilihanraya 2008 dan adalah menjadi tanggungjawab kami untuk mengistiharkan harta setiap tahun kepada umum.

Butiran program adalah seperti berikut:

Tarikh: 18 Mac  2010 (khamis)
Masa: 10.30 pagi
Tempat: Dewan Perhimpunan China Selangor(SCAH)

No.1  Jalan Maharajalela 50150, KL.

PSM  merupakan satu-satunya parti politik di Malaysia yang mengistiharkan harta setiap tahun bagi calon yang bertanding dalam pilihanraya. Semua dijemput hadir.

Sebarang pertanyaan hubungi: Bawani 0169008202 @ Arutchelvan 019-2537791

KUALA LUMPUR: The government may have deferred the second reading of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, but there will be no let-up until it is dropped altogether, said Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) president, Badrul Hisham.

“The postponement is a only temporary respite. It is not the end. We will continue to push BN to cancel the GST altogether. We are simply not ready for it, “ he told FMT.

He said SAMM, together with its NGO partners, will continue to explain the issue to the people.

Echoing his view, Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM) secretary-general S Arutchelvan said the aim, from the beginning, was to get the GST annulled.

“We are grateful that the reading has been postponed, but we are quite sure the government will bring it back. We cannot allow this,” he said.

On May 1, PSM begins its nationwide anti-GST campaign.

“We will explain the meaning of GST and how it will affect us in our daily lives,” he said.

Long-term strategy needed

On Saturday, Second Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanazlah said the government would defer tabling the GST for a second reading when Parliament convened.

He said the government wanted time to seek public feedback before proceeding.

Meanwhile, PAS central committee member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the GST should not have been proposed in the first place.

“This is not the time for the GST, not when the overall economy is weak and the people are vulnerable to lay-offs and pay-cuts.

“What we need urgently are painful reforms, a complete economic overhaul. We need to be competitive by getting rid of incompetency, corruption and cronyism.

“We need long-term strategies to attract FDI, to stir up the domestic economy and raise the people’s income,” said Dzulkefly to Harakahadaily.

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s government put off a politically risky plan to enforce a 4 per cent goods and service tax (GST), cheering opposition critics who claimed it would burden the poor.

Prime Minister Najib Razak’s administration had previously planned to debate legislation in Parliament later this month to impose the tax by 2011 in an effort to boost revenue by about RM1 billion ($421 million) annually.

The plan stirred fierce criticism from social activists and opposition parties, who insisted the tax would cause inflation to rise and unnecessarily trouble poor and middle-class earners.

Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said on Saturday the government will indefinitely delay plans to debate the legislation until it can convince people that the tax would aid the country’s economic well-being.

“It will depend on our engagement with the public and acceptance of the people on its implementation,” Mr Ahmad Husni was quoted as saying by Bernama. “We do not want to put a time frame on that.”

Analysts have said the sales tax might spur public dissatisfaction against Mr Najib’s ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional, which is expected to call for elections in the state of Sarawak sometime over the next year.

“The question is which of these they want to secure – a balanced budget or an election victory,” Mr Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin, Chief Economist at Bank Islam in Kuala Lumpur, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

He added: “This is a policy flip-flop. Back-pedalling will always send the wrong signals to the market and to foreign investors.”

Opposition parties welcomed the delay and urged the government to completely scrap the GST plan. They also said they will postpone a planned protest against the sales tax outside Parliament today.

“This is a victory for PAS (Parti Islam SeMalaysia) and the Pakatan Rakyat, which have united to explain the ramifications of the GST to the people,” PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar said.

Mr Mahfuz and Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general S Arutchelvan called for a referendum on the GST rather than just seeking public feedback.

PSM has also asked the government to maintain corporate taxes at its current rates and to implement a minimum wage act to control the growing income disparity.

The broad-based consumption tax is supposed to replace a narrowly-applied 10 per cent sales tax and 5 per cent services tax. It is meant to be levied on transactions at all stages of production of goods and services.

The plan comes as the government seeks to cut its budget deficit and reduce reliance on income from state oil company Petronas, which contributes 40 per cent of its revenue.

The budget deficit hit a more than 20-year high of 7.4 per cent of gross domestic product last year, according to government data.

To help reduce the deficit, the government recently postponed electricity price rises and ended plans to hike subsidised petrol prices. AGENCIES

KUALA LUMPUR — Opposition parties are crowing victory with the delay in tabling the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill which analysts say is linked to the Najib Administration’s desire to win elections over balancing the budget.

PAS and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) hailed Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah’s announcement yesterday to delay the Bill is a victory for the people and chided the government’s excuse of seeking public feedback when pulling the Bill from debate when Parliament opens this week.

“This is a victory for PAS and the Pakatan Rakyat which have united to explain the ramifications of the GST to the people,” PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar (picture) said last night.

The GST, which would have generated revenues totalling around RM8.8 billion, was due to be introduced in 2011, to replace an existing sales tax as part of measures to reduce Malaysia’s dependence on oil revenues, which currently account for almost half of government income.

Malaysia’s budget deficit hit a more than 20 year high of 7.4 per cent of gross domestic product in 2009, according to government data.

Mahfuz said the opposition have to continue their efforts to prevent GST from being implemented, adding they were against bad financial management by Umno/Barisan Nasional (BN) and not the tax system itself.

He also said Husni need not create excuses about the delay putting the Bill for a second reading after it was first tabled last December.

“If they want to seek public views, they didn’t have to wait until now. It should have been done before the first reading.

“I think Husni and the government are just creating this excuse to cover their weaknesses in planning the GST or were never serious about it or perhaps unable to face anti-GST protests on Monday,” the Pokok Sena MP was quoted as saying by the PAS Harakahdaily news portal.

The Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact — which comprises PKR, DAP and PAS — have called for a protest against the GST when Parliament opens tomorrow but police have warned against any gatherings.

PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan echoed Mahfuz views and called for a referendum over the GST rather than just seeking public feedback.

“PSM believes that the about-turn decision by the Government is that BN does not want to risk losing the upcoming elections in Sarawak or the next General elections. The opposition against the GST is growing,” he said in a statement issued this morning.

He said PSM wanted the government to maintain corporate taxes at its current rates and implement a minimum wage act to ensure the growing income disparity be narrowed down.

“But all this efforts will go in vain if we cannot plug the leakages and confront corruption,” he added.

Analysts however said the delay in GST was linked to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s desire to win the looming Sarawak state election and reverse the unprecedented losses in Election 2008.

The delay in GST signalled the end of meaningful fiscal reforms until after the next elections. Over the past three weeks, the Najib Administration has postponed electricity price rises and ended plans to hike subsidised petrol prices, part of measures planned to reduce a budget deficit that stands at a 20-year high.

It had also effectively delayed announcing its New Economic Model (NEM) when Najib announced a two-stage rollout of the ambitious plan to turn Malaysia into a high-income nation based on innovation and creativity.

Instead of a full announcement in the Invest Malaysia forum at the end of March 30, the prime minister said full details would be disclosed when he tables the 10th Malaysia Plan as the government wanted to seek public feedback for proposals that the dominant Malay majority feel could sideline them.

“They will have to wait for Najib to get a big mandate from the election before he can continue to really push through the reforms,” said James Chin, a politics professor at Monash University in Kuala Lumpur.

The next general election does not have to be held until 2013, but could come as early as 2011 to coincide with elections Sarawak, a government stronghold that supplies 30 of BN’s 137 lawmakers.

Najib vowed last year to reform public finances in order to cut the budget deficit to 5.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 2010 from 7.4 percent of GDP in 2009 and pledged to tackle a subsidy regime that accounted for 15 per cent of all federal government spending in 2009.

Savings from food and fuel subsidies amounted to RM3.6 billion ringgit this year alone under Najib’s budget plans announced in October last year.

A return to economic growth this year, seen at 5 per cent versus a 1.7 per cent contraction in 2009, has reduced pressure on the government to push through with reforms.

“The question is which of these they want to secure — a balanced budget or an election victory,” said Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin, Chief Economist at Bank Islam in Kuala Lumpur.

“This is a policy flip-flop. Back-pedalling will always send the wrong signals to the market and to foreign investors,” he said.

Malaysia has seen its status as a favoured destination for foreign direct investment erode in recent years and recorded RM24.9 billion ringgit of outflows in 2009, according to government data released last week.

Net portfolio inflows were roughly balanced in 2009, in sharp contrast to neighbouring Indonesia which attracted a net US$10.1 billion in the same year thanks to economic reforms.

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) last week suggested that the government consider a retail sales tax (RST) as Malaysia was not ready for the GST until the average income was higher and income disparity smaller.

Chairman of the Task Force on GST Datuk Lee Ow Kim said the GST was for more advanced and affluent countries where the income disparity was not that big and most people were paying income tax.

“Hence, the government should consider the RST as an alternative which was simpler, less costly for government and businesses to administer but generates the same revenue to the government,” he told a GST conference.

The Protes coalition of activist groups and opposition parties against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill announced today that the demonstration planned for tomorrow at Parliament has been cancelled.

Protes said this follows Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah’s announcement that the bill, scheduled for debate when Parliament reconvenes tomorrow, has been postponed to enable the government to get more public feedback on the contentious tax.

The coalition yesterday declared a preliminary victory over Husni’s announcement, describing it as a vindication of the coalition’s public campaign against the GST, which they said would burden lower-income earners.

Repeating it this morning at a press conference at PAS’ headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Hatta Ramli (second from left) – who is Protes chairperson – said: “They (the government) wanted the bill to be read a second time, but we protested and we succeeded.”

“They couldn’t table it (for second reading). They lost and have admiited (their defeat), and we accept,” added Hatta, who is also PAS treasurer-general and Kuala Krai MP.

“We have to be reasonable as we have to take into consideration the changed circumstances. We will always be monitoring the developments in this country. We are prepared and have taken the position of ‘wait and see’,” Hatta said further.

Protes will not stop

Hatta also apologised to those who had made preparations to participate in Monday’s demonstration, including those who had already chartered buses and applied for leave from their employers to participate in the gathering.

He hoped, however, that the episode had not weakened the spirit of the people against the GST, and stressed that Protes’ efforts to campaign against the GST in the form of roadshows and other events would continue.

“If the government plays around with the matter of this GST, I am sure this will anger the people, and many more will participate (in any future demonstrations).

“If they insist on tabling it (the GST bill), we will respond (at a scale) many times bigger (than the gathering planned for Monday),” said Hatta.

He claimed the coalition received word that “two to three times” the earlier estimated number of activists and supporters had planned to gather at Parliament tomorrow.

Event organisers had earlier declared about 2,000 Protes activists and supporters were to participate in the event, notwithstanding a warning by Kuala Lumpur police chief Muhammad Sabtu Othman against the demonstrators.

It was reported yesterday that Husni said the GST “will not be tabled for second reading in the March/April session (of Parliament) because we need more time to engage with the public.”

The bill was first tabled in Parliament last December.

On when the bill would be tabled, Husni said: “It will depend on our engagement with the public and how the rakyat perceives the implementation of GST. So, we do not want to put a time-frame on that.”

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general, S Arutchelvan (left), meanwhile, expressed disappointment that the government had not gotten public feedback on the GST before the bill was tabled in the last parliamentary session.

“They tabled it for first reading before getting feedback from the people,” said Arutchelvan, who is also Kajang municipal councillor.

Also at the press conference were Y Kohila of the grassroots Network of Oppressed Peoples (Jerit) movement, PAS Youth secretary Kamaruzaman Mohamed and PAS Muslimat secretary Aiman Atirah Al-Jundi.

VIDEO l 7.01 min

Five years later, the GST was to be tabled in Parliament for the first reading. It was passed in December 2009 and was to be tabled for the second reading during the March-April 2010 Parliamentary sitting. PSM then launched another concerted campaign to oppose the GST. PSM held discussion with other PAKATAN partners, with MTUC as well as its front organization. We leafleted around 200.000 leaflets in Malay, Mandarin and Tamil while many other groups recopied this and distributed. We made badges, put up banners in major towns and held many community level discussion as well as big ceramahs.

The campaign then started to create a momentum. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was united in opposing the GST. PR took a stand that GST should not be implemented for now as it will burden the people. The Government tried to lobby using the mainstream media but more and more people started to get worried about the GST. Our campaign on the ground gained momentum as many people signed up to oppose GST when it will be tabled on 15th. March 2010.

PROTES the coalition on fuel hike and prices then started to mobilize against the GST. PSM played key leadership role with PAS in opposing the GST and planned a huge protest on 15 March to oppose the GST. The police came up with public warnings in the print as well as radio and tv news warning the rakyat against participating in the demonstration.

Then yesterday, the Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said government needed more time to gather feedback from the rakyat. He said that “It (GST) will not be tabled for second reading in the March/April session (of Parliament) because we need more time to engage with the public. When he was further pressed on when it would be tabled, Husni said that the Government does not want to put a timeframe on this. This is an indication that the bill for now has been postponed indefinitely. Just four days ago, the same Minister dismissed speculations that the implementation of the GST would be called off and said that it will go on.

PSM believes that the about-turn decision by the Government is that BN does not want to risk losing the upcoming elections in Sarawak or the next General elections. The opposition against the GST is growing.

We call for the BN to hold a referendum on the question of GST and not just claim that it plans to consult the people. We also call upon the Government to maintain corporate taxes at its current rates and implement a minimum wage act to ensure the growing income disparity be narrowed down. But all this efforts will go in vain if we cannot plug the leakages and confront corruption.

While we would claim victory with the PROTEST coalition for the bill not to be tabled for now, nevertheless we believe that the GST will be back to haunt us as the GST is yet another ideological weapon of the neo-liberal regime to shift the burden to the poor. GST is an in-built system designed to rob from the poorer segment of society. It is a capitalist agenda.

PSM along with its front organization and other parties will have to work hard to ensure this bill be scrapped out altogether. It is yet proven again that mass mobilization can do wonders and we will continue to mount support against the GST.

We will built the class forces and oppose the GST until it is scrapped out altogether. The call by BN to implement GST calls for a class war between the BN who supports a Tax system which will benefit a few at the expense of many. It is time to stand with the many and to call for the GST to be buried once and for all.

Released by
S.Arutchelvan
Secretary General
Tel: 019-2537791