High Prices At Ramadan Bazaar Caused By High Lot Rentals, Not SST, Says Anwar Ibrahim

While answering a question at parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated that he acknowledged that the prices of goods at Ramadan bazaars have increased compared to past years.

However, Anwar stated that the increase in prices were not caused by the implementation of the sales and service tax (SST), but instead was caused by the high rental cost of the Ramadan bazaar lots.

Bernama reported that Anwar’s answer was in response to Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan’s (PN-Kota Bharu) query of the government’s plan to reduce the hike in food prices and the operational cost of Ramadan bazaars, following the increase of SST from 6% to 8%.

In Anwar’s answer,he also added that he believes that the price increase does not have anything to do with the SST, as surveys from the Statistic’s department have shown that the increase in prices is only about 0.2%, and Ramadan bazaars are not directly related to SST.

Ramadan bazaar price increase leads to slower sales

Since the start of Ramadan this year, Malaysians have cried foul about the higher price of food at Ramadan bazaars compared to previous years.

And reports have shown that the price increase has also caused sales at Ramadan bazaars to slow down, and in some cases totally change what they’re selling altogether

Meanwhile earlier this year, the SST rate has been increased and widened from 6% to 8%, excluding several services.

Read More : Reminder; New Service Tax Rate Comes Into Effect On 1st March