Latest news with #SUPPKuchingYouth
Borneo Post
03-07-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
SST expansion will impact livelihoods, threaten SMEs, says SUPP man
Yong says the revised SST not only increases the tax rate to 8 per cent but also broadens its scope to include services such as leasing, construction, finance, private healthcare and segments of the education sector. KUCHING (July 4): The expanded Sales and Services Tax (SST) will impact people's livelihoods and threaten the survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), said a Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) man. SUPP Kuching Youth member Raphael Yong said the revised SST not only increases the tax rate to 8 per cent but also broadens its scope to include services such as leasing, construction, finance, private healthcare and segments of the education sector. He said certain non-essential goods are also now subject to tax rates as high as 10 per cent, and warned of a chain reaction of price hikes that will further burden the public already grappling with high living costs. 'Many SMEs are overwhelmed by system overhauls, cost transfers and regulatory uncertainty, while ordinary citizens are ultimately the ones paying the price each time a new tax adjustment is made,' he said in a statement yesterday. Yong lamented that prices of eggs and chicken had risen by more than 13 per cent over the past two years, and vegetables by 4 to 8 per cent. He also said that food inflation overall had reached 4 to 5 per cent, but did not cite official statistics. 'These figures reflect the erosion of household purchasing power,' he said. Yong said the people have no qualms about the government increasing national revenue provided it is genuinely for the betterment of the nation and its citizens. He further pointed out that issues such as corruption, leakages in public spending and a bloated civil service continue to strain government finances, with little sign of improvement. Given this, he urged the Ministry of Finance to stop using the term 'reform' as a pretext to introduce new taxes. 'True reform should focus on easing the people's burden and restoring public confidence in the economy, not covering up poor fiscal management through increased taxation,' he said. Kuching lead Raphael Yong SST SUPP Youth
Borneo Post
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Borneo Post
Don't mislead public to score petty points against DAP, Kong to SUPP over matriculation admission statement
Michael Kong KUCHING (June 30): The state Democratic Action Party (DAP) yesterday accused the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) of making misleading statements on Putrajaya's matriculation admission policy. DAP Sarawak assistant publicity secretary Michael Kong said the Education Ministry had clarified that all students with 10As or more, including those with A-, would receive automatic offers for matriculation admission. 'This move is part of the federal government's continued commitment to recognising the academic excellence of our youth and ensuring a more inclusive and fair education policy. 'It is appalling that a party with sitting MPs within the federal government, such as SUPP, would allow its Youth leaders to issue such an irresponsible and incorrect statement with even basic fact-checking,' he said in a statement. The statement was in response to SUPP Kuching Youth deputy secretary Alan Bong, who had said students who obtained 10As with A- grades were not automatically offered matriculation placements and must undergo a merit-based selection process. Kong said SUPP Kuching Youth should check with those holding positions within the federal government before rushing to discredit a policy. He went on to claim that SUPP is beginning to resemble its Peninsula-counterpart MCA that 'has mastered the art of barking at every passing issue but ends up barking at the wrong tree'. Pointing out that people deserved better than petty and misleading antics, he said SUPP must not peddle disinformation simply to score political points against DAP. 'We urge SUPP to start acting like a serious political party. Instead of playing childish blame games, they should focus on bringing real improvements to the people they claim to represent and if they cannot do that, the very least they can do is get their facts right,' added Kong.
