He said although a price increase would benefit the national petroleum company, the government aimed to avoid burdening the people with higher fuel costs.

Speaking after a meeting with the Johor PKR leadership in Iskandar Puteri today, the PKR president also said the expansion of the sales and service tax (SST) must be implemented carefully so as not to pressure the lower and middle income groups.

“Sometimes people get confused. For example, it was said that bananas are subject to SST. Actually, it’s imported bananas.

“We will clarify the matter. The important thing is that we do not want to burden the lower-income groups,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

Anwar also suggested that government departments and agencies serve local fruits during official functions to support domestic production.

He said the government is open to reviewing the list of goods and services subject to tax if there is confusion or unfairness in its implementation.

Commenting on the issue of SST on educational institutions, the prime minister explained the tax would only be imposed on international schools that charged fees above a certain threshold.

“Regular and private schools that charge RM10,000 or RM20,000 a year are not taxed. But if it’s RM60,000 a year, then pay a little tax,” he said.

Anwar emphasised that tax revenue would be used to fund public necessities, such as the construction of schools and the upgrading of public healthcare facilities.

“Wherever I go, hospitals are crowded. Many schools also need repairs. We need funds, and those come from taxes, but not from ordinary citizens. We will target the upper class and foreign sectors,” he said.