Zahid said GST should be reintroduced at a more reasonable rate as part of efforts to strengthen social protection, ease business operations and develop regional economies.
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be reintroduced, saying the taxation system should be restructured to strengthen social protection and facilitate business.
Zahid said Umno was determined to bring back GST at a more reasonable rate while rejecting a hybrid system that combines GST with the existing Sales and Services Tax (SST).
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“Change the taxation system back to GST. There is no hybrid. No country has a hybrid GST and SST,” he said in his policy speech at the 2026 Umno General Assembly today.
Referring to someone as “Guru”, in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Zahid said the government should listen to public views on the matter.
“Listen to what the people are saying. Bossku (former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak) got it right by implementing GST,” he said.
“God willing, we will restore GST to the taxation system in this country.”
Zahid said GST should be reintroduced at a more reasonable rate as part of efforts to strengthen social protection, ease business operations and develop regional economies.
He said the approach should also take into account the respective strengths and needs of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
The call comes after Anwar previously said the government was considering reforms to the consumption tax system, including the possible reintroduction of elements of GST while retaining the existing SST framework.
Malaysia abolished GST in 2018, three years after it was introduced at a rate of 6%, and replaced it with SST.
Anwar has previously described GST as a transparent taxation system, while the government has maintained that any broader tax reform must take into account its impact on households and the wider economy.
