Timothy Choy

Public sector specialist @WorldBank ▪️ Visiting Researcher @PenangInstitute ▪️ Views are my own.

[James @JamesJSChai]

My statement on MACC’s public search notice as a wanted man. I’d like to iterate that I’m not Jho Low nor am I in Macau. This is plain and simple using the largesse of the state against a nobody like me. I’m not a politician, tycoon, or an influencer. Read here:

[Apurva Sanghi @ApurvaSanghi]

Is digital really making Msia’s civil servants faster & smarter?

My colleagues did world’s largest civil servant survey (done in 🇲🇾 !) & found

1. AI saves civil servants 2.5 hrs/day

2. M'sia leads in cloud computing

3. But secrecy culture limits progress: all 👀 on FOI Act 🧵

[Khazanah Research Institute @KRInstitute]

Many houses are sitting empty, yet owning an affordable house is still out of reach for most Malaysians

It’s time we ask, who benefits from keeping houses vacant and who gets left behind?

In cities across Malaysia, thousands of homes are vacant. Some remain unsold due to poor locations or high prices. Others are intentionally held back from the market, waiting for prices to go up, a clear sign of speculation. When properties are kept vacant for profit, they are being taken away from people who genuinely need a place to live. And that’s simply not fair.

To tackle this, a vacancy tax has been proposed to discourage speculation, bring empty homes back into the market and help make housing more affordable for everyone.

Read the full article from @fmtoday, featuring insights from our Research Associate, @theeba_k by scan the QR code or visit the link here: https://t.co/jEGiNyC212

#KhazanahResearchInstitute #KRI #AdvancingMalaysia #HousingJustice #UrbanInequality #MalaysiaHousingCrisis #VacantHouses

[Apurva Sanghi @ApurvaSanghi]

🇲🇾SST Expansion: My take on the debate & noise!

1. All taxes tax but not the same way
- Raise the most revenue? It's GST
- Promote healthy behavior: Tax sugar, cigarettes etc
- Reduce inequality? Make income tax more progressive / think of wealth tax

-> But what’s missing in M’sia is a coherent plan with defined revenue targets & clear rationale for each tax

-> Good news? Govt's working on such a plan!

-> Until then, even though i have some thoughts, the usual GST vs SST debate is a bit unproductive

2. But rakyat asks meanwhile “Why raise taxes on us? Why not cut spending?” Fair question. But M’sia needs to spend more, not less (no, that’s not a typo), for which it needs to raise more:

- Both revenue & spending have dropped ~30% lower since 2012 levels--well below global peers

- Spending needs are only growing, esp as M’sia ages

- Also, cutting spending not easy ‘cos most of it is “rigid”: wages, pensions, debt service = 57% of op ex

3. Some cuts do make sense, however: RON95 subsidy is on the rakyat's radar, and we know reforms are coming. But one overlooked area?

- Tax exemptions! They cost billions/year. And some backfire. For ex, to benefit from medical insurance tax relief, you needs a certain level of chargeable income. But if you don’t -- like some elderly or poor -- you lose out🤷‍♂️

- Btw, Section 127(3A) of the M’sian Income Tax Act allows finance minister to exempt any individual from paying tax -- that's a pretty discretionary tax relief! Indeed, PAC reveals sizeable amounts of uncollected taxes related to this relief!

-> Good news? Govt's working on a “Tax Expenditure Stmt” that'd reduce such reliefs. What a relief! Sooner it comes, the better ya!

4. Other leakages & wastage? Yes...AG regularly uncovers losses in public funds, irregular payments, wastages across various ministries. Reforms (ex, audit digitization, dashboard to monitor progress) are moving, but Govt Procurement Act is delayed. Faster progress on such reforms that build trust with the rakyat can make it easier to swallow bitter tax hikes.

After all, the ultimate currency any govt issues is not money -- it is trust!

Btw, @IDEASMalaysia nicely keeps tabs on such reforms (ex, amending whistleblower protection act; separation of AG/PP; regulating CDF etc) as part in their 2024 Blueprint

5. In the short-term, can we earmark add'l SST revenue & commit that to visible items important to the rakyat? Might that quell some of the public outcry?

Now I know tax revenues go into a consolidated budget; money is fungible etc. But drawing upon behavioral economics findings of “mental accounting”, such earmarking may be worth trying?

PS: “Mental accounting” is not when accounting makes you go mental (!). It’s our human tendency to allocate our budget into different “buckets” like a “taking holiday bucket”, a “dining out bucket”, a “rainy day bucket” etc even though all money is interchangeable!

6. Finally, on SST vs GST:

(i) Both are regressive -- and both can be made progressive via targeted cash transfers & exemptions. Btw, under SST, the noble intention of leaving some incidence on the business vs. consumer may not happen -- businesses often find ways to pass the burden to the consumer!

(ii) Current SST expansion does include progressive elements (ex, privileged education -- check out MOF’s Under SecGen John Patrick’s great interview on Traxx FM + SecGen’s Johan’s on BFM)

(iii) Imported food price inflation is a concern but may be overblown—only RM16b of RM79b imports affected. Check out @syahir’s excellent post below:
https://t.co/sT2QYIzOfo

(iv) SST scope so wide now, so isn't it GST by stealth? No, it's not. SST is single stage tax--if you slip through the net once, you’re off the hook. But multi-stage GST has inbuilt incentives to prevent that. So GST is better at plugging leakages --thus a powerful anti-corruption tool!

Summing up

1. Not all taxes tax the same: M’sia needs clear plan w/ defined revenue targets & rationale for each tax type

2. M’sia needs to spend more; not less. But there are areas where spending can be cut; waste arrested; and foregone revenues, clawed back

3. Tax hikes are painful but people can bear them – if they’re meaningful. This means faster progress, esp on governance reforms and that would increase trust

As Murakami said: “I can bear any pain as long as it has meaning.” END/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Importing fruits in Malaysia is a manufactured crisis. We are food insecure — 60% imported to fulfill domestic demand amounting to RM 78.8B in 2024.

Why transfer the burden to people when govt policies fail?

(1/6)

[🙋‍♀️ @tiwikerama]

Penjawat awam dijumpai mati dgn keadaan terikat di premis kerajaan, sampai sekarang tiada berita. No post mortem report, nothing at all.
And no, suddenly perempuan nak pi SPRM pula hilang. Harap yg baik2 shj utk wanita ini.
Apa nak jd dgn negara ku ini?

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

@johannismaill @BookXcess Could be chronic book collectors. To deco shelve at home

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

@MalaysiaGazette Got pulled over at a massive block once (10+ officers). After some back and forth, I had to insist on a fine which had me waiting 15mins in queue. So many other cars that got pulled over left within 5 mins.. convenient that the officer had a reflector jacket on to hide badge no.

[Benjamin YH Loh @ThatBenLoh]

For those of you who are wondering, this is from the book The Colour of Inequality, and I assume the RM1 was a typo that was not corrected (MPH as your publisher, IYKYK). That being said, OP doesn't actually know how to interpret this data correctly. Let's take a look:

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

@harriszainul Soon.

[Apurva Sanghi @ApurvaSanghi]

Exhibit A:

Inter-governmental coordination in your typical country

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

@ernestngBRO Little boy there also has debt: national deficit that will be repaid in his generation 🥲

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

@luxentX Roti canai with mayonnaise? What? Someone should be in jail for this

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

Many asking why MBSA didnt take action beforehand.

Reality: Many local councils lack the capacity to monitor compliance to permits ex ante (b4 the event).

Solution: Crowdsource monitoring by making guidelines and approved permits transparent and easily searchable online.

[BFM News @NewsBFM]

MBSA reveals that the glass water slide at i-City Theme Park has not received approval to operate.

This comes after a float from the 60m-high, 600m-long slide fell and struck a woman in her 20s, who did not sustain any serious injuries.

🧵1

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

Miss the years when lighting up the sky with fireworks was a controlled, regulated and supervised activity.

Good luck and prosperity for the owner but public nuisance for the rest.

Gong Xi Fa Cai.

[Yishan @yishan]

There are no quick fixes to renewing American competitiveness. All of the things the US needs to do will take decades, and anyone who thinks seriously about this topic realizes it.

The key difference between US and China is that when China realized the same thing decades ago, their reaction was, "Ok then, let's start the doing things that will bear fruit in 30+ years."

China didn't even start by making shitty cars. They had to start by making shitty steel. It was so shitty they'd make it and destroy it and then try again.

You may say, "oh, our politicians are too short-term." Yes, but the answer isn't Chinese-style government. The answer is to pose the question "What policies and programs can we start today that we can hand off to an administration controlled by THE OTHER PARTY and still know that it will be continued?"

Only the things that remain constant across both political parties will bear fruit for the next generation. Everything else yields nothing.

Biden reversed tons of Trump-1 EOs. Trump-2 and the new Congress will reverse Biden's IRA et al. America's future will be determined by the few things that persist through both.

[khalid karim STEMKITA @khalidkarim]

Maybank CEO is paid higher than JP Morgan CEO

Maybank CEO earns RM0.81 million per billion ringgit of profit, while JPMorgan CEO earns RM0.67 million per billion ringgit. Relative to their bank profits, Maybank's CEO is paid much much more.

[BFM News @NewsBFM]

The Pahang Fisheries Department has warned the public to avoid three beaches after sightings of the venomous Portuguese man o' war jellyfish last week.

Large numbers of the jellyfish were found washed up at Pantai Hiburan (Rompin), Lagenda (Pekan), and Sepat (Kuantan).

🧵1

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

Pay PTPN 1 app, renew road tax 1 app, exit immigration 1 app, get queue at jpj 1 app..

Each agency boasts 100% end-to-end digitalisation of services.

Multiple vendors become personal data storerooms

We need to institutionalise citizen-centric service design and delivery!

[PTPTN @PTPTNOfficial]

Anda tak tahu berapa tunggakan anda? ​

Senang je, lakukan semakan di myPTPTN dengan hanya 4 langkah mudah.​

Log masuk myPTPTN anda sekarang.​

​#LestariPendidikan​
#PTPTNSediaBantu​
#PTPTNBolehBincanAnda tak tahu berapa tunggakan anda? ​

Senang je, lakukan semakan di myPTPTN dengan hanya 4 langkah mudah.​

Log masuk myPTPTN anda sekarang.​

​#LestariPendidikan​
#PTPTNSediaBantu​
#PTPTNBolehBincang

[Timothy Choy @timcxw]

@aidilarazak For the fans to go "wow, sihat"