The prime minister also said he did not announce that the government would reinstate GST soon but merely said it was looking into this possibility.

“Many people reacted strongly when I said ‘not ruling out the possibility’ (of reintroducing GST), but I also said we need to study the negative and positive aspects of it first.

“I did not announce the reintroduction of GST. I just said we will look into it as studies have shown there is a shortfall of RM30 billion in revenue yearly with the move from GST to SST (sales and service tax),” he told reporters after launching the World Environment Day celebration at Taman Tugu here today.

In a special interview with Nikkei Asia in Tokyo last week, Ismail said GST was seen as capable of widening the country’s revenue base.

He added that the government was not ruling out the possibility of reinstating the consumption tax as an effective way to increase national income and help combat inflation and the rising cost of living.

Ismail said it was important for the people to be properly informed of any new taxation system that the government plans to introduce.

“If we feel SST is no longer suitable, what are we going to replace it with?

“We have to consider many things. Would the effects of GST lead to higher prices? Should it be implemented now or should we wait a few years?

“Don’t worry; when the time comes we will make an announcement,” he said.

GST, at 6%, was first introduced in Malaysia on April 1, 2015 by the Barisan Nasional government.

It was suspended on June 1, 2018 and finally abolished and then replaced with the SST on Sept 1, 2018 by the then Pakatan Harapan government.

The current rate for sales tax is 5-10% while service tax is 6%.