Kuala Lumpur, 2 October 2024—The Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP) welcomes recent comments by Datuk Koong Lin Loong, the Treasurer-General of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCCIM), calling for the government to help small, medium, and micro enterprises (MSMEs) and the general public manage the increasing costs of doing business and the cost of living in Malaysia.
On the same note, INSAP wishes to point out that we took a step further by putting a similar proposal in our memorandum to the Ministry of Finance handed to the Second Finance Minister on 18 September 2024. In our tax reform paper to the ministry, INSAP researcher Wong Yun Tinn also called for the government to increase personal relief from the existing RM9,000 to RM15,000. For the record, the last revision of personal tax relief was over 14 years ago, which is not in line with the current rising cost of living. Policymakers must implement effective measures to safeguard the B40 and M40 households from the increasing cost of living.