Malaysia can become shopping haven with abolition of duty on goods, Dewan Rakyat told

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 (Bernama) -- The abolition of import duty on about 300 daily goods and those popular with tourists on Oct 15 last year is expected to turn Malaysia into a shopping paradise and help reduce the cost of living, the Dewan Rakyat was told Thursday

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai said RM185 million in taxes would be lost yearly as a result but tourist spending increased by 32% between January and June this year as compared to 29% last year.

He was answering a question from Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman (PAS-Pendang) who wanted to know the revenue that would be lost annually and the items on which duty has been abolished.

Therefore, he said, the government fervently hoped that the people would support its actions to protect their interests and ensure the progress of the economy.

Meanwhile, Lim also replied to a question from Datuk Wira Ahmad Hamzah (BN-Jasin) on the efforts of the government to overhaul various subsidies to make them cost efficient and ensure that the target groups benefited.

He said the government would endeavour to ensure that every expenditure was made efficiently and productively by taking steps to rationalise the subsidy on several products, including petroleum.

He said the government would strengthen further the subsidy mechanism to make it more efficient and ensure that it would not have a negative implication on the national economy and the well-being of the people in general.

He also said that the government also took the initiative to help the low-income group by providing aid and subsidies to ease their burden.

"We give subsidy for electricity, incentive for fish catches and financial aid for households earning less than RM3,000 a month," he said.

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