PUTRAJAYA: More and more people have accepted the fact that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has saved the nation from suffering a serious financial crisis like Greece.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he had been told by economy experts that without GST, Malaysia’s economy would be bleak.

“Some, however, have used the government’s unpopular decisions like the GST as their weapon to attack us for their own political mileage,” he said before presenting the excellent service awards to 81 Finance Ministry staff today.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said the current government had never, and would never shirk its responsibilities to safeguard Malaysia’s economy and the people’s welfare.

All decisions, even the unpopular ones, were done for the sake of the people, said the prime minister, adding that the projected RM39 billion revenue collected under the GST would go back to the rakyat.

“This shows that we are a government that will not run away from its responsibilities for the sake of the people and the nation,” he added.

The prime minister had also lauded the recipients of today’s Finance Ministry excellent service awards as they had set the benchmark for others to perform better.

He thanked the ministry’s staff for all their contributions especially in the current weak global economy. -nst