Latest news with #RichardWee
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
DAP man fails to stay defamation judgment in businessman's suit
The Kuching High Court ruled in January 2024 that Michael Kong's statements against Richard Wee were defamatory, malicious and unsubstantiated, and awarded the businessman a total of RM200,000 in damages and RM50,000 in costs. (Facebook pic) PETALING JAYA : DAP's Michael Kong has failed in his bid to stay the enforcement of a defamation judgment given in favour of Sarawak businessman Richard Wee. A three-member Court of Appeal panel sitting in Kuching today unanimously rejected Kong's application for a stay of execution and ordered him to pay RM10,000 in costs to Wee, who is also the president of the Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations. The judges on the bench were Justices Nazlan Ghazali, Choo Kah Sing and Ismail Brahim, Dayak Daily reported. Wee had sued Kong, an aide to Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen, over a Facebook post on July 21, 2020, in which he accused the businessman of obtaining advantages in his business through political connections. In January 2024, the Kuching High Court ruled that Kong's statements were defamatory, malicious and unsubstantiated. It awarded a total of RM200,000 in damages, RM50,000 in costs and a 5% interest on the damages from the date of the Facebook post's publication until the sum is fully paid. Wee was represented by counsel Shankar Ram and Liu Wan Ping, while Chong Chieng Jen, Chong Siew Chiang and Sharon Lo acted for Kong.
Borneo Post
13-06-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Sarawak federation calls for delay of SST expansion, suggests GST be reintroduced
Datuk Richard Wee KUCHING (June 13): The Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations (SFCA) has called on the federal government to delay the implementation of its expanded Sales and Service Tax (SST). The expanded SST policy is scheduled to take effect on July 1. SFCA president Datuk Richard Wee suggested a more measured approach should be considered in view of the uncertainty of US President Donald Trump's tariff war against most countries. 'Until the tariff negotiation is finalised between Malaysia and the USA, our government should not burden the rakyat and the business community further. 'Although such expansion of the SST excludes essential goods, the other affected categories will definitely be impacted. And if it is implemented now, there is a possibility that a further adjustment of prices will need to be imposed,' he said when contacted. Wee said expanding the SST would increase the nation's coffers at the expense of the business community, people, and Malaysian economy. He suggested the Goods and Services Tax (GST) be reintroduced instead. 'For the longer term, the federal government should reconsider the re-introduction of GST, as GST is a more efficient taxation system and if all major countries have similar system in place, there is no reason why Malaysia could not do the same,' he explained. Early last year, the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (Insap) suggested the federal government should reintroduce the GST in place of SST. Institute chairperson Datuk Dr Pamela Yong had said this was in view of the government's attempt to boost its revenues with the introduction of the Low Value Goods (LVG) and the still on-hold High Value Goods (HVG) taxes. 'Through our dialogues with the various business associations, GST is still the preferred choice of taxation system due to its transparency and fairness,' she said in a statement. She pointed out the abolishment of the GST in 2018 resulted in a significant revenue shortfall. 'The GST generated a robust RM44 billion in 2017, contributing significantly to the national coffers. It has been estimated that the GST had it not been abolished it would have collected around RM63.5 billion instead of RM35.8 billion in 2024,' she said. Insap also stated the SST and LVG disproportionately impact vulnerable groups. The institute said by focusing on specific goods and services, these measures often place an undue burden on lower-and middle-income groups (B40 and M40) who rely on those goods and services, contradicting the government's stated goal of promoting social equity and inclusive economic growth. 'GST is well-recognised in many advanced countries to have far better outcomes in terms of collection due to its broadband nature,' Yong said, opining it was a grave mistake to have abolished the GST in 2018. 'The priority is to address the people's burden in having to face a downturn in the global economy. This requires stimulus packages and additional fiscal spending, which could have been well supplemented by the GST, had it not been put to an end by Pakatan Harapan 1.0. 'It is time for Malaysia to put political expediency in the back seat, swallow our pride, and re-instate the GST for the sake of the people,' she stated. GST lead Richard Wee Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations SST
