PUTRAJAYA: It has been long days and long nights for Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy (pic). The Customs Department GST director has had little time for his family and friends since work began on the new tax system.
“I’ve basically been eating, breathing and sleeping GST,” he quipped, adding that he had been working 18-hour days in the past few weeks.
“It’s been exciting but also tiring. The Customs Department has been planning this since 2005 so we had some breathing space to put a lot of things in place, but it has been busy nonetheless,” he said in an interview.
Subromaniam, 56, even had brickbats thrown at him.
“People have scolded me in public. A stranger recognised me in a
restaurant; he came over and asked me ‘are you the GST director?’ When I
said yes, he told me off saying that because of GST, everything will be
expensive. And then he just walked off.”
“Actually, I felt sorry for him. What people should realise is that they were already paying taxes even before GST,” said Subromaniam, who firmly believes that prices would come down in the longer run due to competition from the reformed tax system.
“I believe that prices of even pharmaceutical products will come down,” he said.
Throughout the interview, he was frequently interrupted by phone calls besides attending one meeting after another.
Subromaniam said even his close friends and family members had endless questions for him.
“The most common is ‘will prices go up?’.”
“I can’t seem to leave GST behind at the office,” he quipped.
He does not get asked any GST questions in social events or parties, though.
“Quite simply, that’s because I have no time to attend parties or functions. I’m grateful for WhatsApp because at least there is some interaction with friends there.”
He said he had lost some friends “as I’m just not around. I don’t see my friends for days due to the preparatory work that I have to do.”
An even bigger hurdle was the little time he had to spend with his family.
“I couldn’t have done this without them. They are so supportive. It would have been impossible without their understanding. My wife is also with the Customs, so she understands the work I am doing and how hectic it can be. That’s what keeps me going.”
During his “working weekends”, his family would take a drive to Alamanda Mall in Putrajaya.
“They will do some shopping while I’m at the office. Then I join them for lunch. We have to grab whatever time we can,” he said.
One particularly stressful aspect in the GST run-up was the complexity of individual businesses.
“Sometimes we didn’t have ready answers for such businesses as their set-up was unique, more so in Malaysia because we have things like free zones. We were unable to provide immediate solutions, so we had to have many technical meetings to look at the problems and respond to them.”
Subromaniam will be spending today on the ground, visiting traders and seeing consumers and getting a feel of the sentiments there.
“I need to put my finger on the pulse of the consumer.”
“I’ve basically been eating, breathing and sleeping GST,” he quipped, adding that he had been working 18-hour days in the past few weeks.
“It’s been exciting but also tiring. The Customs Department has been planning this since 2005 so we had some breathing space to put a lot of things in place, but it has been busy nonetheless,” he said in an interview.
Subromaniam, 56, even had brickbats thrown at him.
“Actually, I felt sorry for him. What people should realise is that they were already paying taxes even before GST,” said Subromaniam, who firmly believes that prices would come down in the longer run due to competition from the reformed tax system.
“I believe that prices of even pharmaceutical products will come down,” he said.
Throughout the interview, he was frequently interrupted by phone calls besides attending one meeting after another.
Subromaniam said even his close friends and family members had endless questions for him.
“The most common is ‘will prices go up?’.”
“I can’t seem to leave GST behind at the office,” he quipped.
He does not get asked any GST questions in social events or parties, though.
“Quite simply, that’s because I have no time to attend parties or functions. I’m grateful for WhatsApp because at least there is some interaction with friends there.”
He said he had lost some friends “as I’m just not around. I don’t see my friends for days due to the preparatory work that I have to do.”
An even bigger hurdle was the little time he had to spend with his family.
“I couldn’t have done this without them. They are so supportive. It would have been impossible without their understanding. My wife is also with the Customs, so she understands the work I am doing and how hectic it can be. That’s what keeps me going.”
During his “working weekends”, his family would take a drive to Alamanda Mall in Putrajaya.
“They will do some shopping while I’m at the office. Then I join them for lunch. We have to grab whatever time we can,” he said.
One particularly stressful aspect in the GST run-up was the complexity of individual businesses.
“Sometimes we didn’t have ready answers for such businesses as their set-up was unique, more so in Malaysia because we have things like free zones. We were unable to provide immediate solutions, so we had to have many technical meetings to look at the problems and respond to them.”
Subromaniam will be spending today on the ground, visiting traders and seeing consumers and getting a feel of the sentiments there.
“I need to put my finger on the pulse of the consumer.”
