KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the original 2011 deadline for goods and services tax (GST) implementation has not been confirmed yet.

“We have not decided on any particular date. What is important here is people don’t understand the real effect and intention of GST. Many think it is an additional tax,” he told reporters after the launch of an Audi showroom here on Thursday, March 18.

He said the government would need some time to explain the broad-based tax system to the people and only after that, it would decide on the implementation date.

“So we don’t know the date yet but what is important here is the buy-in from the rakyat,” he said.

“In fact, GST is designed to be neutral. Unfortunately there are some people who spinned it around and create a lot of concerns among the people,” he added.

An online news portal had earlier reported that the implementation of GST had been put off till after the next general election.

It quoted a Barisan Nasional (BN) MP who said the government would delay the GST Bill until after the next general election to ensure that the BN win big.

Asked to comment on the matter Najib said: “Everybody wants to win big.”