KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — The public turnaround on the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for prepaid mobile reloads demonstrate double standards between major companies and ordinary traders, DAP’s Tony Pua said.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said the decision to allow telecommunication companies (telcos) to raise prices despite repeated pledges to block this move also directly contradicted announced policies against profiteering.

Saying that the telcos were now pushing the tax burden to consumers despite there being no change to the level of taxation between the GST and the Sales and Service Tax it replaced for such firms, he added that the move was a “cartel-like attempt” to profit from the new tax.

“The question must hence be asked, why is it that the authorities are only allowed to ‘come down hard’ on ordinary traders, many of whom were forced to raised prices beyond the GST rate due to the substantial increase in cost of doing business to comply with the GST implementation? 

“Why is it when it is the giant multi-billion ringgit telco companies which were blatantly raising prices and profiteering from the GST implementation treated with such kids gloves?” he said in a statement yesterday.

According to the federal lawmaker, the three largest telcos — Maxis, DiGi and Celcom — made a total of RM8.19 billion in pre-tax profit last year from revenues that included RM12.8 billion in prepaid mobile sales.

Allowing these to raise prices on the basis that they had to restructure for the GST was “utter bunkum” and massive setback both for Malaysian consumers and the implementation of the consumption tax, he added.

“The same Anti-Profiteering Act must be imposed equally and fairly on petty traders deemed unscrupulous for raising prices post-GST, as it must be imposed on the unscrupulous telecommunication companies which trampled on the Act despite making billions of ringgit in profits,” Pua said.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek to “take charge” of the issue and issued a gag on non-ministers making statements on the matter.

Up until then, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan had been outspoken on the topic, including issuing warnings to telcos that did not comply with his directive not to raise prices.

On April 29, the Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad said telcos must revert the prices for prepaid reload coupons to pre-GST levels by May 1, meaning that a RM10 top-up card would be sold at RM10 with airtime credit of RM9.43.

But just hours later, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said prepaid reload coupons will still be sold with GST added on to the price, meaning Malaysians will buy a top-up coupon valued at an airtime credit of RM10 for RM10.60.