PETALING JAYA, March 3 — Leveraging on public sentiment, Pakatan Harapan will hold a demonstration to protest the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 2, the opposition coalition’s chief secretary Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah announced today.

The former deputy minister said the rally is to show the pact’s rejection of the consumption tax, adding that the GST is still unpopular with Malaysians who have endured a year of higher living costs since its introduction on April 1.

“April 1 is nearing. It would be a year since GST has been implemented, so we will hold an anti-GST rally at a place to be announced later.

“The rally reflects our continued commitment to oppose the GST, a stand which we have clearly stated in our common policy framework,” he told reporters at PKR’s headquarters here.

The opposition pact has repeatedly protested the implementation of the GST, claiming it significantly reduces the purchasing power of most Malaysians, especially the bottom 40 per cent of wage-earners.

Several financial reports issued by banks and consultancy firms last year showed the GST has had a negative impact on businesses as consumer spending dropped over inflationary concerns.

Putrajaya earned over RM20 billion in revenue from the consumption tax as at December 2015.