Many people are complaining on the move by the Telcos to pass the 6 percent service tax on prepaid mobile services to consumers. The politicians from both ends are against it, the Prime Minister is against it after hearing public feedback.
It’s not unusual for politicians to go against it because it scores brownie points for them “caring” the citizens in the midst of rising cost of living. Any politician who is in favour of it would be perceived less “considerate” for the masses.
However, what bothers me is, is that 6% REALLY a big deal ?
Sure, having to pay extra is always not going to get a positive feedback ? Who wants to pay more ? They even ask people on the street if they believe it’s a bad move, of course they would say so.
I usually tell my clients anything less than 15% is in a zone of relatively indifference because you won’t notice / feel such an impact.
Now 6% and everybody is complaining. They say the people who are most affected are the low income and students who are the mass users of prepaid. Now, let’s do some simple arithmetic.
There was once my bill was RM 1,000 per month. 6% would be RM 60. That’s a lot. I can eat a good decent meal on it.
My bill nowadays is around RM 150. 6% would be RM 9. Probably 1 normal meal or 2 cheap lunches.
If the so called affected people are the low income / students. I’d say RM100 to RM200 is a decent range while the maximum of RM 200, obviously means you made too many calls. The 6% is just RM 6 to RM 12.
The public is arguing for RM 12 bucks per month ? OK… let’s assume a whole family of 5 do it…. That’s RM 60 for 5 people ??!!
So, are they arguing for the sake of arguing or is the RM 60 is going to make a whole lot of difference in today’s rise on cost of living ?
I wish there’s one opposition politician who would stand out and do this simple mathematics and go against the populist believe.![]()
It’s not unusual for politicians to go against it because it scores brownie points for them “caring” the citizens in the midst of rising cost of living. Any politician who is in favour of it would be perceived less “considerate” for the masses.
However, what bothers me is, is that 6% REALLY a big deal ?
Sure, having to pay extra is always not going to get a positive feedback ? Who wants to pay more ? They even ask people on the street if they believe it’s a bad move, of course they would say so.
I usually tell my clients anything less than 15% is in a zone of relatively indifference because you won’t notice / feel such an impact.
Now 6% and everybody is complaining. They say the people who are most affected are the low income and students who are the mass users of prepaid. Now, let’s do some simple arithmetic.
There was once my bill was RM 1,000 per month. 6% would be RM 60. That’s a lot. I can eat a good decent meal on it.
My bill nowadays is around RM 150. 6% would be RM 9. Probably 1 normal meal or 2 cheap lunches.
If the so called affected people are the low income / students. I’d say RM100 to RM200 is a decent range while the maximum of RM 200, obviously means you made too many calls. The 6% is just RM 6 to RM 12.
The public is arguing for RM 12 bucks per month ? OK… let’s assume a whole family of 5 do it…. That’s RM 60 for 5 people ??!!
So, are they arguing for the sake of arguing or is the RM 60 is going to make a whole lot of difference in today’s rise on cost of living ?
I wish there’s one opposition politician who would stand out and do this simple mathematics and go against the populist believe.
