KUALA LUMPUR: The cabinet is fine-tuning the goods and services tax (GST) implementation plan to ensure the people have a clear picture of the tax prior to its introduction.

"We are looking at the level of readiness of the country when we implement this tax. The implementation is the critical part... how ready we are in terms of implementation," Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah told reporters after gracing Faber Group Bhd's vendor recognition ceremony on Thursday, March 11.

"We do not want (a situation) when it is implemented we face teething problems, causing difficulties to the people."

He said the cabinet had discussed this issue, particularly on whether people would understand the tax and what steps to take if they didn't.

Asked by reporters on the possibility of the tax regime being abandoned, Ahmad Husni said: "The cabinet did not say it did not want to implement the GST."

Several quarters, including the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and opposition political parties, have urged the government to review its decision to implement the GST, saying the country was not ready for the new tax regime.

On another matter, the minister said the National Economic Advisory Council had prepared the parameters for the New Economic Model (NEM) and would hand it to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the end of this month.

"We want to hear comments from everybody — people from the private sector, also government and especially from the non-governmental organisations (NGOs). We will make the final plans after hearing their voices," Ahmad Husni said.

He added that the NEM would be the basis of the Tenth Malaysia Plan, which would be announced in June.