Tax reforms: No ‘cents’ of fairness for the man on the street

HE starts his day at 5am, with the sun yet to crack the horizon. A cool morning breeze seeps into his already chilled, air-conditioned room, which has gone on through the night.

He checks his phone for messages, then scrolls through the latest news, looking for the day’s amusements. As expected, world leaders have said something outrageous again.

Another headline, another laugh, another reminder that politics everywhere thrives on theatrics. He tosses the phone aside, pulls on yesterday’s jeans and makes his way to the back of the house, where his weapons of choice are neatly laid out.

He chooses a light tool for light work to start the day – the parang. The ground behind the house needs tending, branches need trimming and the fruit trees could use some pruning.

Two hours later, sweaty and half-tired, he heads to the warung. The folks from the mosque have just returned from prayers. Trying hard to ignore, his ears catch fragments of their conversation.

“They are not taking this case seriously!” someone mutters.

He feels the familiar tug of frustration. It could be about corruption, justice or perhaps the latest policy blunder.

It hardly matters; it is always the same cycle.

He has often told his children to work hard and save, and they will be fine. But even he knows, it is not so simple anymore.

The cost of living eats into wages and subsidies are stretched thin. And reform promises? They remain just that – promises. Now, there is this new debate: Malaysia’s tax reform.

For most Malaysians, it feels like a distant conversation – just numbers in the papers and speeches in Parliament. Yet, it cuts directly into everyday life – from the price of food at the warung to how much savings his children can put aside.

The government insists reform is urgent: the revenue base is narrow, oil and gas dividends won’t last forever and subsidies are increasingly unsustainable.

On paper, they are right. Malaysia cannot afford to delay. But what policymakers often overlook is that tax is not merely an economic tool; it is a social contract. In Malaysia, that contract is badly frayed.

Why? Because for decades, Malaysians have paid their dues only to see their contributions evaporate in corruption, leakages or endless mega-projects of questionable value.

To succeed, this reform must confront this trust deficit. Otherwise, it will be seen not as a path to fairness but just another way of squeezing the rakyat.

People may not parse fiscal reports but they feel the effects immediately – raise excise duties and cigarettes cost more; adjust fuel subsidies and a cup of kopi-o goes up by 20 sen.

The man sipping his kopi-o knows this instinctively. He doesn’t calculate elasticity curves but he knows one thing: if people don’t feel it’s fair, it will fail. Fairness means taxing not just consumption but also wealth and profit. It means making it visible where every ringgit of tax goes – into schools, hospitals, roads – not lost in corruption trials that drag on for years.

For younger Malaysians, tax is not an abstract line on a payslip; it is about whether they will ever afford a house, whether salaries will keep pace with living costs and whether a pension or healthcare system will still exist when they need it.

This generation is less forgiving. They demand not just reform but fairness. They expect accountability, and they are not afraid to voice their discontent, whether online or in the streets, as exemplified in Jakarta and Kathmandu.

Tax reform can no longer be framed as a technical necessity. It must be framed as a renewal of the social contract, a promise that sacrifice will be shared fairly and that contribution will be matched with delivery.

And boy, do we have promises ahead of the incoming elections!

As he finishes his breakfast, the man at the warung glances again at the crowd – still debating. He puts his cup down, wipes his hands and gets up to leave. The parang will wait until tomorrow. The question is whether those wielding the nation’s tools have the courage to cut where it matters most or feature in tomorrow’s read – for another headline, another laugh.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com