Return Part Of Penang S Sst Share To Ease Cash Flow Says Backbencher

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 PKR’s Gooi Hsiao Leung says the state contributed RM435 billion in exports and accounted for 7% of the national GDP last year yet received only RM14 per person under the federal per capita grant.
Bukit Tengah assemblyman Gooi Hsiao Leung said returning just 1% of the federal SST collection to the state would give Penang RM1 billion, enough to fix its shortfall. (Facebook pic)GEORGE TOWN: A backbencher has urged Putrajaya to return a portion of the sales and service tax (SST) collected in Penang to help address the state’s cash flow problems
Gooi Hsiao Leung (PH–Bukit Tengah) said the state contributed RM435 billion in exports in 2023 and accounted for 7% of the national gross domestic product (GDP), yet received only RM14 per person under the federal per capita grant.
A per capita grant is a federal payment to states based on their population.
“Penang bleeds for this country, but barely survives for itself. We’re not begging. We’re asking for what is fair, what is right,” he said during the debate on the motion of thanks to the governor in the state assembly today.
He was commenting on the RM100 million advance Penang sought from Putrajaya last year, which chief minister Chow Kon Yeow yesterday said was motivated by a cash flow crunch the state was facing.
Chow said Penang would ramp up efforts to recover unpaid taxes and boost state revenue through higher fees and charges, including increased hotel taxes, liquor licence fees, and the urgent recovery of quit rent arrears, as part of 24 strategies being implemented to address the state’s cash flow issue.
He said the cash flow problem was caused by a failure to control expenses and a general increase in the cost of running the government.
Lim Guan Eng (PH-Air Putih) earlier today demanded that Chow explain the deterioration of the state’s finances which led to the administration requesting the RM100 million.
The former chief minister said the state’s consolidated revenue plunged to RM50 million in 2024 from the RM1.15 billion recorded in 2019, representing a RM1.1 billion drop in five years.
Gooi said the state’s financial statements showed that as of May, the consolidated fund stood at just RM199 million. Penang only made RM593 million, or 0.5% of the national GDP, and recorded 13 years of fiscal deficits, with 2023’s being the largest among all states.
“We’re among the bottom four states in terms of revenue, only ahead of Perlis, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan,” he said.
He suggested there should be a new SST sharing formula based on each state’s GDP contribution under the 13th Malaysia Plan, and that it should factor in the economic performance of the states to ensure fair distribution.
He said federal SST collections were projected to reach RM51 billion in 2025, and returning just 1% to the state would give Penang RM1 billion, enough to fix its shortfall. - FMT

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