PERMATANG PAUH, April 28 — PKR will ride controversies such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) to gain an advantage over Barisan Nasional (BN) in the by-election here, said Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
The Kajang state assemblyman, who is contesting the Permatang Pauh by-election, has so far campaigned solely on the platform of opposing the GST.
“Of course, we have many advantages other than GST, there’s 1MDB, ‘beli jet’ (jet purchase) and ‘cuci rambut’ (hair wash),” she told reporters outside the Jimat Mini Market in Kubang Semang here.
The jet purchase refers to the government’s purchase of a new private jet amid budget cuts while the hair wash alludes to the furore over Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s remark that she had to pay RM1,200 for a hair dying session at her home.
Today, Dr Wan Azizah shopped for groceries at the Jimat Mini Market, a small neighbourhood grocery store here, to prove her point that GST is a burden to the people.
“I have so many children and grandchildren so I usually buy about RM200 worth of groceries and I had to pay RM11 for GST,” she said.
She said this is an extra burden for families who are poor and this is why PR is opposed to the GST.
“If even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who can well afford it, says GST is a burden, then for poor people, it would be an even bigger burden,” she said.
Dr Wan Azizah is defending the party’s stronghold seat against BN’s Suhaimi Sabudin, PRM’s Azman Shah Othman and independent candidate Salleh Isahak in the May 7 poll.
