Cover image via The Malaysian Times
"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.
Image via Facebook/Dato Ir Nawawi Ahmad
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.
Image via Facebook/ Dato Ir Nawawi Ahmad
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.
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
Image via Malaysiakini
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".
