In today’s edition of Evening 5 — Malaysia will be collecting a 10% sales tax low value goods sold online from Jan 1. Meanwhile, in a week that has already seen a number of changes at the top in corporate Malaysia, PetChem announced that it has found its next MD and CEO.
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00:00 [Music]
00:04 Malaysia will begin collecting 10% sales tax on goods sold online
00:08 that are priced at no more than RM500 each starting January 1st, 2024.
00:13 This ends the indefinite deferment of the new tax
00:17 that was originally slated to be enforced by April 1st this year.
00:21 PM and Finance Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim signed off on the Federal Government Gazette
00:26 for the new tax on December 4th to fix the new effective date of the tax,
00:31 also known as the Low Value Goods Tax.
00:34 The Gazette was published on December 8th.
00:36 The tax, which was first announced in Budget 2022, is applicable to all goods sold online
00:41 at the specified price threshold and brought into Malaysia by land, sea or air,
00:46 except cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaping products, smoking pipes, tobacco products and liquors.
00:52 The tax will be charged on the sale value of low value goods sold and does not include any tax,
00:57 duty, fee or other charges such as transportation or insurance
01:01 that may be related to the sale of the goods according to a set of answers to FAQ
01:06 that was prepared by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.
01:10 According to the Customs Department, countries such as Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand,
01:15 Norway and the United Kingdom have imposed a similar sales tax on low value goods.
01:20 Petronas Chemicals Group, which is 64.35% owned by national oil firm Petronas,
01:30 has named Mazwin Ismail as its new MD and CEO, effective from the new year.
01:35 Mazwin, who currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Petronas,
01:40 will succeed Mohd Yusri Mohd Yusof, who was appointed as Petchem's MD and CEO in January 2022.
01:47 According to Petchem, Mazwin managed to chart Petronas' strategy and portfolio
01:51 to achieve financial performance, earning stability to future-proof Petronas and sustainability.
01:57 He also managed group-wide merger, acquisition and divestment activities,
02:01 with key highlights including the acquisition of renewable energy opportunities globally.
02:05 Mazwin also steered Petronas' Clean Energy Solutions Unit,
02:09 which eventually evolved into Gintari, its dedicated clean energy arm.
02:13 He was also actively involved in the advocacy of the National Energy Transition Roadmap
02:18 that was launched in August.
02:20 Mazwin, 55, joined Petronas in 1991 and has more than 30 years of experience,
02:25 covering project execution and engineering, internal audits, governance and business development.
02:30 K&M Group has denied claims that its premises were raided recently by the police,
02:40 saying instead that the authorities have only sought its assistance in an investigation.
02:45 It also noted that the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department Director,
02:49 Datuk Sri Ramlee Mohd Yusof, had likewise rubbish claims of such a raid taking place.
02:55 In a statement, K&M said that it could not get into the specifics of the probe
02:59 as it is a subject for the police, but adds that as a reputable and responsible organization,
03:04 the Board of Directors under the leadership of Tunku Datuk Yaakob Kaira
03:08 will assist the police in the said inquiry.
03:10 Meanwhile, K&M said it is now focusing on monetizing its assets, earmarked to pare down its debts,
03:16 and that it has an ambitious timeline to keep to despite disruptions from a recent
03:21 hostile takeover of its EGM that had delayed its efforts.
03:24 The group said that in order to overcome these delays, it is moving with even greater urgency.
03:30 It also said that the pre-IPO efforts for Borsig have been gaining traction,
03:34 and that K&M is in the midst of negotiating prices with potential subscribers for the subscription of shares.
03:40 Tunku Datuk Mahmud Fauzi Muhyiddin has resigned as non-executive chairman of AirAsiaX
03:51 after nearly one and a half years.
03:53 In a boss filing, AAX said the reason for Mahmud's resignation
03:56 was to concentrate on areas of specific interest.
04:00 Deputy Chairman Datuk Fahm Lee E will take over as acting chairman
04:03 until the board of directors has formalized the appointment of a new chairman.
04:07 According to AAX, Mahmud was instrumental in reshaping the airline's financial status.
04:12 AAX managed to get itself uplifted from its PN17 status on November 22.
04:18 In a separate statement, AAX said that following his appointment,
04:21 the airline has turned around its financial position from 12 quarters of losses
04:25 to registering five consecutive quarters of net profit, recorded a positive shareholders' equity,
04:31 and demonstrated significant operational improvement across all other key metrics.
04:36 Executive Director Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said that AAX owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mahmud
04:41 for his invaluable contributions, and that his vision and dedication have been instrumental
04:46 in reshaping AAX as a world-leading, low-cost mid-range airline,
04:51 and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
04:54 In a separate filing, AAX also announced the resignation of Ahmad Al Farouk Ahmad Kamal
04:59 as its independent and non-executive director, saying that now with the airline's PN17 status
05:04 lifted, he will be pursuing other opportunities within the AirAsia Group.
05:08 The government should consider raising the existing excise duties on cigarettes and
05:18 tobacco products, which have remained unchanged since 2015,
05:21 according to Galen Center for Health and Social Policy.
05:24 Galen Center CEO Azrul Muhammad Khalib suggested an excise tax rate of 77 cent per stick,
05:30 representing a 61% excise tax of the retail price,
05:34 which can generate additional tax revenue of RM771.8 million.
05:39 Together with the expected tax collected from nicotine vape,
05:42 this will bring in at least RM1.2 billion, according to Azrul.
05:46 He says it is sobering to note that Malaysia spends an estimated RM16 billion annually
05:51 treating smoking-related illnesses, and that the revision would also help offset
05:55 the effects of not including the generational endgame provision.
05:59 The passage of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, once gazetted,
06:04 will empower the authorities to enforce crucial regulations and restrictions on vape and e-cigarettes.
06:10 Azrul says critically it will address the targeted marketing and sales of nicotine vape
06:15 and e-cigarettes to children and teenagers, adding that even though significant harm and
06:19 damage has already been done, it will be possible to close this particular Pandora's box.
06:25 The bill, which was approved by voice vote in Dewan Negara,
06:28 sparked a controversial debate, with one of the key points of discussion being the GEG clause,
06:33 which prohibits any Malaysian born from January 1, 2007 onwards
06:37 from consuming or buying any type of smoking products that was removed from the bill.
06:42 [Music]