Saturday, March 28, 2015

MALAYSIA:::Indonesia threatens to stop sending workers to Malaysia over visa fees, again

Indonesia has once again threatened to stop sending its workers to Malaysia, citing the exorbitant visa processing fees charged by a private company appointed by the Malaysian government.
The Star quoted Indonesian Manpower Services Association (Apjati) president Ayub Basalamah as saying the Jakarta-based private firm had imposed an additional RM235, in addition to the existing RM15 fee to process entry visas for Indonesians to work in Malaysia.
Furthermore, the company only accepts payments in cash, he said.

MALAYSIA:::Unions call on PM to intervene in MAS' restructuring plan that will result in loss of 6,000 jobs

PETALING JAYA: Employee unions have banded together to call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to intervene in Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) restructuring which will see 6,000 workers being retrenched.
International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam), and Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) are among those who jointly sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office on the issue.
Other unions showing solidarity with MAS workers include Tenaga Nasional Berhad Junior Officers Union (TNBJOU), United Malaysia Labour Centre (UMLC), and Public Services International.
Nufam president Ismail Nasaruddin demanded that Khazanah Nasional Berhad, which owns 70% of shares in MAS and is overseeing restructuring operations, consult MAS in-house unions and threatened to picket if this is not done before downsizing starts in June.

MALAYSIA:::MTUC pleads for a postponement of the GST

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), today officially announced their opposition to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax on April 1, arguing that the new taxation system would affect low wage earners who were already struggling to cope with the increased price of goods in the market.
“40% of workers are receiving less than RM2,000 as their income (per month). 65% of families get less than RM3,500 per month.
“These are the groups … that are going to be affected very badly by the GST,” its Secretary-General Gopal Krishnam Nadesan told a press conference at the MTUC headquarters here today.

MALAYSIA::: MTUC :::TANGGUHKAN PERLAKSANAAN GST, JANGAN BEBANKAN RAKYAT

Semasa pembentangan Belanjawan Kerajaan 2014 pada 25 Oktober 2013, Perdana Menteri Malaysia telah mengumumkan rancangan kerajaan untuk melaksanakan Goods and Services Tax (GST) dan penghapusan Sales and Services Tax (SST) yang akan berkuatkuasa pada 1 April 2015. Kerajaan menyatakan bahawa langkah tersebut adalah perlu kerana keadaan kewangan kerajaan adalah tenat maka dengan perlaksanaan GST akan membantu kerajaan untuk meningkatkan pendapatan cukainya dalam jangka panjang.
Mengikut undang-undang, GST dikenakan ke atas setiap urusniaga kecuali urusniaga itu diberi pengecualian dari skop GST. Semua perkhidmatan atau barangan yang tidak diumumkan sebagai “dikecualikan” akan dikenakan GST. Walupun GST akan dikenakan pada setiap peringkat urusniaga, namun pada akhirnya pengguna membayar sekali sahaja kerana GST mempunyai mekanisma ‘Input tax credit’ dimana cukai yang dibayar oleh sesebuah firma dalam proses pembuatan dan pengagihan boleh dituntut balik. Cuma pengguna akhir sahaja yang tidak dapat meminta balik cukai yang dibayar. Di samping itu, hanya firma yang menjual barang atau perkhidmatan melebihi RM500,000 setahun diwajibkan mendaftar untuk mengenakan GST.