KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 — It is unproductive for consumers to stay idle in the season of price hikes when they can generate additional income, the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) said today.

However, the group also urged Putrajaya to work together with the public by not making it hard for consumers to earn, while at the same time ensuring that the public reap what they pay in taxes with more efficient governance.

“Do the consumers just sit down and wait for its the arrival, or do we want to do something? We certainly cannot run from the GST,” PPIM president Datuk Nadzim Johan told reporters here, referring to the impending Goods and Services Tax (GST) that Putrajaya recently announced for implementation in 2015. 

“For example, if we know that a ghost is coming, do we just sit there and wait for it?” he added.

Nadzim suggested that consumers get more bang for their buck by using their time more efficiently to earn additional income, which he said could help cover the increase in prices, such as starting a side business to sell food or mineral water.

At the same time, he urged Putrajaya to practise good governance to stop any leakages and wastage that would only end up increasing the cost of living.

“We are not willing if the government collect money, but they are full of leakages ... We are fine with an increase in taxes, but we want the best,” Nadzim said.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had also urged Putrajaya this week to balance the national budget by trimming its own expenditure before looking to add to the financial burdens of Malaysians.

The nation’s longest-serving prime minister pointed out that there was ample opportunity to reduce wastage and leakages as evidenced by the annual Auditor-General’s report, before resorting to new and higher taxes.

PPIM also extended its hand today to consumers who felt dissatisfied by the price hikes by certain industries, and called on them to stay united and make their voices heard.

The group’s remarks today come following comments by Datuk Seri Hasan Malek yesterday, who said that the failure by Malaysians to officially complain about price increases caused by government measures indicated their approval of the policies.

The domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism minister also insisted that prices were determined by consumers and that the government has no role or power over the matter.

Since September, Putrajaya has embarked on aggressive cost-cutting measures after pressure grew for it to rein in a chronic budget deficit that can be traced back to the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and which has left Malaysia’s national debt at just below a critical legal ceiling.

Among others, it has reduced fuel subsidies, removed price controls for sugar, allowed an increase in electricity tariffs and confirmed the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) all within the space of four months.