“The government has not discussed it. There has been no decision on that yet,” he said after officiating the National Accountant Convention 3.0 here today.

However, Ahmad said the implementation of GST was good, pointing out that 83% of countries in the world were using the taxation system.

He said studies by universities had shown that GST was beneficial, otherwise not so many countries would have implemented it.

Ahmad also said the government was examining ways to increase its revenue without having to implement new taxes.

“Efforts are being made in that direction. For example, we can reduce leakages caused by smuggling. Some say tax evasion from illicit cigarettes is approximately RM5 billion.

“So if we tighten everything related to tax evasion and cigarette smuggling, then without any new taxes, the government can get an increase (in revenue) of RM3 billion to RM5 billion,” he said.

On the possibility of another increase in the overnight policy rate (OPR), Ahmad suggested that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) educate the people more in the event of any new announcement.

“I have already received a briefing from them (BNM) and I mentioned that the community needs to understand the matter, like what is the relationship between the OPR and inflation, and the exchange rate and economic growth.

“The people may not clearly understand the matter because it is not their field of expertise, so it is BNM’s duty to explain before making an announcement that only they understand,” he said.