Langkawi MP Is Arguing With Netizens Over Who Pays His Salary
The UMNO MP strongly believes that Malaysians have it better thanks to the reasonable local tax rates.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 08 Jun 2016, 05:47 PM
"The salaries of MPs are not paid by the people but the government and the government's money is not the people's money," said Langkawi MP Nawawi Ahmad.
The UMNO MP made the statement while debating with fellow Facebook users on tax and GST implementation in Malaysia, comparing it to that of Denmark's
The debate was sparked by a Facebook post by Nawawi on June 6. The post captioned, "Tudia Denmark nampak semua free tapi cekik balik rakyat dia" (Denmark appears to give everything out for free, but in the end the Danes are forced to pay for it), was about a Danish teacher's thought-provoking outlook on how the free education and healthcare is Denmark is only possible because of the exorbitant amount of tax the Danes pay.
The debate fired up when a Facebook user said that the situation in Malaysia is as bad as it is in Denmark, thanks to its high taxation rates.
Responding to that, Nawawi replied that Denmark's tax rates are a great deal higher than that of Malaysia's.
According to an article by CNN, Denmark has the highest top personal income in the world at 60.2%.
Another piece by US News revealed that the average annual income in Denmark is approximately 39,000 euros (RM180,145), making most Danes pay a total of 45% for their income taxes.
Meanwhile in Malaysia, the income tax rate can go up to 26% based on the progressive rates system.
"Once money has passed on to another quarter, it is no longer our money.
"If the government's money is really the people's money, let us attack all government departments to take back our money," added Nawawi.
Amused internet users then reproduced the screenshot on Nawawi's Facebook page, to which the Langkawi MP adamantly defended the comment.
He refuted Facebook user Imran Omar who posted the image to his page and called Nawawi stupid.
"This is the reality, not stupidity. How can the government's money be our money? Nonsense," said Nawawi, responding to the comment.
malaysiakini.com
After a series of remarks defending his thoughts, Nawawi eventually ended the exchange by saying that the conversation just got a little heated up during the fasting month
This is not the first time Nawawi has gotten in hot soup over his statements. In 2014, sometime after the tragic death of DAP chairperson Karpal Singh, Nawawi posted a photo of the deceased with a comment, "Who wants to challenge Karpal Singh? Please submit your name".
The statement referred to Karpal's opposition to having an Islamic state. The veteran lawyer and politician had previously said, "an Islamic state can only happen ‘over my dead body".
Nawawi’s Facebook posting read: "When driving leads to death, riding a motorcycle leads to accidents, taking a flight leads to disappearance, it is better to take a train, campaign together with KTMB trains".
He also posted a picture of a blood-smeared Karpal in his Toyota Alphard with newspaper articles of Karpal’s opposition of hudud and asked: "Siapa nak sambut cabaran Karpal Singh? Sila bagi nama he he." (Who wants to challenge Karpal Singh? Please submit your name.)
Nawawi later held a press conference to apologise, saying he removed the posting "when he realised that the post was strongly objected and condemned by the people."