Breaking the Goods and Services Tax (GST) taboo for a fairer Malaysian tax system

Tax-free necessities: People are still not aware that their basic needs will be protected under the proposed GST regime because essential food items like rice, meat, fish, seafood, chicken, vegetables, cooking oil and salt will be ‘zero-rated’, which means there will no GST imposed.  
 
When the Finance Minister tabled Budget 2013 and reduced personal income tax rate by 1%, some quarters have asked if this brings us one step closer to the GST.

EVER grumbled about having to pay the RM50 government tax for your credit card each year?

Well, the good news is there will be no more such tax if the proposed GST (goods and services tax) is implemented. And you will pay GST on the credit card only if your bank charges you for the card.

“These days, banks are offering credits cards for free and giving waivers on annual subscription. If the card is free, there will be no GST on it,” says Customs Department director-general Datuk Khazali Ahmad in an interview.

He stresses that key sectors like the financial services, public transport, healthcare, education and residential housing will be exempt from GST.

This essentially means that education, medical care, bus and train tickets as well as highway tolls will still be just as affordable as today. Thus, the lower income groups will not be burdened by the GST.

When it comes to insurance, Khazali says, if it is a life policy (including education, investment-linked and endowment), no GST will be imposed. But if it is a general insurance policy for medical, fire, motor, burglary, then the normal GST rate (proposed at 4%) will apply.

Despite the GST being a fairer, more effective and transparent taxation system and one that has been successfully implemented in 146 countries, it has not been easy to push the idea through in Malaysia.

In fact, the government has been talking about the GST for more than two decades now (even when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was the Finance Minister in the 1990s).

In December 2009, the GST bill was tabled in parliament for first reading but it was withdrawn on April 19 this year for amendments.

The Finance Ministry on its website has asked the public for views and feedback on the proposed GST.

With public awareness still very low on how GST works, it might be years before it actually comes to fruition.

People are still not aware that their basic needs will be protected under the proposed GST regime because essential food items like rice, meat, fish, seafood, chicken, vegetables, cooking oil and salt will be “zero-rated”, which means there will no GST imposed.

Critical services like schools, financial services, hospitals, roads and public transport will be “GST-exempt”, which means the consumer will be exempted from paying GST on them.

And if you buy a flight ticket to a destination abroad, you will not have to pay GST.

“You will be charged GST only on goods and services (which are not zero or exempt-rated) that you consume in the country what you consume outside the country will not be subject to a local GST. A flight ticket abroad and overseas travel is consumption outside Malaysia, so you don't pay GST here on it,” says Khazali.

The GST is a consumption-based tax where the tax is borne by the person who consumes the goods or services.

Ultimately, it should reduce business costs because manufacturers, distributors and suppliers are able to claim back the GST they paid on goods and services acquired for the purpose of their business.

And these businesses are supposed to pass those savings down to the consumer, which should result in lower prices.

Khazali says people find it hard to accept the GST even though it benefits them because “tax” is never a popular subject.

“Generally, nobody likes to be taxed or, rather, the word “tax” is taboo to many.

“However, governments all over the world need to impose tax to get the revenue to provide their citizens with their social needs, employment, security and so forth.”

Educating consumers on the GST, he admits, is not easy because the moment you say that GST is a form of tax, “you will be faced with a wall of resistance”.

“So we have to explain the GST and its benefits to the people continuously to avoid or eliminate whatever misconception they have about it,” he adds.

Khazali also notes that most people do not know that the GST actually replaces the current sales and services tax which they have already been paying on a lot of goods and services because it is embedded in the price of what they buy.

Under the current system, by the time the goods reach the consumers, the sales tax that is paid at the manufacturers level would have cascaded at each level of the distribution and the supply chain, and this results in a higher price.

But with the GST, since businesses at every stage are able to get a refund on the GST paid on the goods and services acquired or used for the purpose of their business, this will eliminate the cascading effect suffered under the current sales and services taxes.

And because of this, an immediate reduction in prices should be seen for goods and services where people have all along been paying an embedded sales tax.

He also stresses that the government has repeatedly emphasised that the people will have to understand the GST first before the government actually implements it.

“The public should not have any fear over GST. It is a form of consumption tax which has been implemented in nearly 150 countries in the world, whether developed or developing, so there must be something good about it. “

He says the GST is also supposed to result in cheaper prices for imported goods. At present, unless exempted, imported goods are subject to an import duty and sales tax.

People find it hard to accept the GST even though it benefits them because ‘tax’ is never a popular subject. - Datuk Khazali Ahmad

With the GST replacing the sales tax (5% to 10%), imported goods will still be subject to an import duty and a GST; but because the proposed GST rate is lower than the existing sales tax, consumers should be paying less.

Before implementing the GST too, he says, the government will also educate businesses on the need to pass down the savings they get from the GST refund, and set up a mechanism to stop businesses from trying to profiteer from it.

For him, the GST is a good thing because it will reduce business costs, lead to more competitive pricing, make exports more competitive because exports will be zero-rated (meaning no GST), increase gross domestic production and reduce grey economy activities.

Khazali also believes there might be a change in consumption pattern with the GST because the GST works on the affordability concept.

“Consumers have to decide which goods or services to buy. They pay GST only when the goods or services are consumed. So they may divert more of their expenses towards essential goods and services rather than on luxury goods.”

Khazali also points out that if the GST is implemented here at the proposed rate of 4%, it will be the lowest rate in the region.

Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos charge a 10% GST rate, Philippines 12% and Singapore 7%.

But what is to stop the government from hiking the rate after it has been implemented?

Khazali cites past experiences, saying Malaysia increased its sales tax rate only once from 5% in 1972 (year of implementation) to 10% in 1983 and service tax rate too increased only once, from 5% in 1975 (year of implementation) to 6% in 2011.

There are still nuts and bolts to sort out with implementing the GST here, including tabling a new bill for it, putting an anti-profiteering mechanism in place, getting public understanding and acceptance on it. For now, it looks like it is still quite a long journey away.

Is GST the way to go?

No burden: The people can be assured of zero tax on basic essential items like rice, cooking oil, meat, chicken, vegetables, sugar, salt and water. 

The Goods and Services Tax has been successfully implemented in 146 countries but many Malaysians are still unaware of its benefits.

JAYCEE Sim (not her real name) is a self-professed shopaholic who loves nothing more than spending her weekends at shopping malls. She is thus pleased with the one per cent cut in income tax rate announced in the Budget 2013 (for chargeable income up to RM50,000) because some extra money in the pocket is always welcome, especially when prices have been on the rise.

But she dreads the much-talked about Goods and Services Tax (GST) which has yet to be implemented in the country.

“I think it will cause a further hike in prices,” says Sim who teaches at a private college. But her friend, Debbie Lim, who owns her own business supplying component parts, is all for the GST.

“I think it is only fair. You pay for what you consume. You consume more, you pay more tax. If you don't spend, then you don't pay lah,” says Lim, who has family members in Singapore and has seen how the GST works there.

Lim too loves to shop and enjoys trying out new food places with friends.

She believes that post-GST, she can continue to do this without feeling the pinch, because there will be zero tax on essential food products like meat, chicken, fish, seafood be it locally produced or imported.

“Hey, without tax, maybe food prices can even come down. I can live with that!” she laughs.

So far, 146 countries have imposed the GST which is seen as a more efficient form of tax.
In Malaysia, which has a population of 28 million, there are approximately 12 million people in the workforce but only 1.7 million pay taxes.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Taxation Services Sdn Bhd senior executive director Wan Heng Choon refers to the GST as a fairer tax.

“I fall under the unfair' category of paying taxes. Out of our population of 28 million, I am one of the 1.7mil paying taxes. The rest of the population do not contribute but consume the same goods and services (like roads, schools, hospitals, public transport etc.) that the government provides for every single one of us. How can that be fair?” People here generally fear the GST, he says, because they do not understand how it works.

“Tell me which country will introduce a tax that drives prices up? It doesn't make sense. The GST has been successfully implemented in 146 countries. The difficulty here is that the simple mechanism is not understood,” he adds.

The people, he says, can be assured of zero tax on basic essential items like rice, cooking oil, beef, mutton, pork, chicken, fish, prawns, squid, vegetables, sugar, salt and water above.

They will also be exempted from paying GST on critical services such as public transport, toll, taxis, hospital and healthcare, schools, residential property, land for agriculture use, and financial services. Thus, the lower income group will not be burdened by the GST.

“If you conduct a poll, two out of 10 people will not know that essentials will be tax-exempted or zero-rated. That is a worrying statistic to me,” says Wan.

As for other consumer items like clothes, shoes, non-essential food items and furniture, Malaysians have in fact already been paying tax without realising it, because sales tax (sometimes as high as 10%) has been embedded in the price of the goods.

The GST system, on the other hand, will make the taxing system more transparent. The consumer will know what he is paying a tax on and how much.

Under the GST regime, the sales tax and services tax that people have been paying all this while, will be removed and replaced with a one-time consumption tax the GST.

So, it is not a case of consumers paying tax twice for what they buy.

Malaysia is looking at a GST rate of about 4% which actually works out to be cheaper than the present 5% to 10% sales tax and 6% service tax.

Refunds

A significant difference too under the GST regime is that the manufacturer, supplier and wholesaler get a refund from the Government on the GST (which in their case is an “input tax”) they have paid to buy raw materials, parts and utilities used, to produce their goods. So, it is the end user or customer who pays the 4% GST.

When manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers get a refund on their input tax, it is good for business because it brings their production costs down. And when their costs are reduced, they can sell their products at a cheaper price to their customers.

At the customer level, since one has already been paying an embedded tax (of 5% to 10%) on many items prior to the GST, prices should not vary much.

As the GST covers a wider range of products (including those previously without a sales and service tax), some prices will go up but others will come down. But the important thing to bear in mind is that essential food items and key services will not be affected.

Wan says the Finance Ministry and Customs department have done years of extensive work on the GST.

They have come up with a Shopper's Guide, a list of 350 items in the CPI basket showing the estimated prices after the GST is implemented and the percentage of increase and decrease for each of these items, and shared this list with a number of trade associations including the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers and the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTMB).

“It astounds me that the list is not made available to the public. People want to know if their cup of coffee or roti canai will go up,” he says, adding that people need time to become aware of, accept and prepare for the GST.

Australia, he notes, took a year to prepare the public, explaining how the GST works and addressing concerns.

“If you release the list and information to the public only about three months before the implementation date, that's madness.”

Because the price of some non-essential goods might be higher, Wan suggests that the Government consider identifying the lower income group and offering them a one-off BRIM-like direct financial assistance to help them cope with the GST.

“Thus, the Government gives them support to deal with the GST but leaves it to them to decide how to spend that money.”

Dr Veerinderjeet Singh, chairman of Tax and Malaysia Sdn Bhd and former president of CTMB, believes that because Malaysia already has a sales tax embedded in the price of goods, it should be easier for people here to accept the GST than a country that never had similar taxes.

“People never really understood the objective and as a result, some sections are not for it. The GST is good for a country and this has been proven worldwide. We already have a sales and service tax; what we are doing is to merge and tweak it into the GST which is a more effective tax system,” he says, adding that the Government has done five years of solid work on the GST and spoken to every association. Now, they only need to go down to the ground to speak to the man-in-the-street.

Should manufacturers, suppliers or traders try to profiteer from the GST by not passing on their cost savings to the customers, action can be taken under the Price Control and Anti-profiteering Act that has been in place since April last year. Enforcement comes under the Domestic Trade and Consumer Ministry which is looking into establishing a price monitoring council to combat profiteering.

Dr Veerinderjeet points out that with the GST regime, there are more checks and balances in place as manufacturers, suppliers and wholesalers have to get their documents in order to claim their refunds on their GST (input tax).

He says it would also help uncover the underground economy because these businesses would now have to be registered to recover their input tax. And when they register their businesses, they will have to pay income tax, thus the government gains by collecting more taxes.

Wan notes that in the past, when the country's economy was growing at 7% to 9% annually and Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) were coming in at a healthy rate, the Government did not worry too much about revenue because “the growth in the economy generated income that took care of things.”

“But remember 1997 and 1998 when corporate profits plummeted and PNLs (profits and losses) turned red? Where does the Government get its money from then?

“That's why the GST as a tax is a much better source for the Government. Regardless of whether there is an economic boom or recession, the GST can ensure a steady revenue to the Government .”

Wan suggests that people take a macro view of the economy, given the fact that the country has had a budget deficit for 16 consecutive years.

“People should not underestimate the impact of a budget deficit. If the government is spending more than it earns in revenue, a direct impact is that the value of the Malaysian ringgit will fall. What happens if that happens? We import inflation. A falling ringgit has greater far reaching implications on the overall economy and recession than the GST will ever have.

“The GST, on its own, is not going to be the silver bullet that cures deficit but it is definitely one of the strategies to help balance the books,” he says, adding that Malaysia should also tighten its subsidies and do something about its bloated civil service because a country as wealthy as it is should not slide down the slippery slope of the likes of Greece and Spain.

Dr Veerinderjeet admits that the one per cent cut in personal income tax rate took him by surprise and he feels it has been “overly-generous”.

“It benefits everybody in the taxable threshold, including the higher income group. People will save RM25 to RM475 in taxes. It is a good measure because it reduces liability and puts more money in your pocket. But I would have preferred for it to be held back for a rainy day,” he adds.

Currently, the maximum corporate tax in Malaysia is 25% but for personal income tax, the maximum is 26% which is something odd, given that individuals now pay a higher tax rate than companies.

Dr Veerinderjeet says it wasn't like that years ago.

“Personal taxes have always lagged behind corporate taxes. But countries have been lowering corporate tax rates over the years (to stay competitive) and we too have lowered ours.

“Many of us, including professional bodies, have been lobbying for the top margin tax rate for personal income tax to be aligned with corporate tax rate of 25%,” he shares, adding that the income tax bands too should be widened so that someone who works hard and earns an additional RM10,000 to RM15,000 a year will not find himself pushed up into a higher tax rate bracket.

Tax system

Dr Veerinderjeet favours a revamp of the entire tax system, including personal income tax, corporate tax, petroleum tax, real property gains tax, customs duties, sales tax, service tax, the GST and fixing the anomalies and income tax laws that may be burdening business and introducing incentives that encourage innovation and business while reviewing those that have not achieved their objectives.

“It is not as simple as introducing the GST, then think of lowering personal and corporate tax rates. Is this system sustainable for the future? We are looking at 2020 who are we benchmarking ourselves against in terms of our tax system? Are we benchmarking against a developed nation?”

On views that the GST should be deferred to give back to the rakyat, Dr Veerinderjeet says Malaysia needs far more development and it needs to fund this development.

“We are giving back to the rakyat in different forms like better roads, better schools and better hospitals,” he says.

With 146 countries already implementing the GST, it is perhaps only a matter of time before the Government here follows suit. But for this, they must really go down to the ground to allay the fears, address the concerns and explain to the people why GST is the way to go.

Consumers assured of a fairer tax system

“YOU know that shirt you are wearing? You've paid tax on it,” Customs Department director-general Datuk Khazali Ahmad points out during a recent interview on the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST).

What people do not realise, he adds, is that the Customs Department has been collecting sales and service taxes over the years. This is because the taxes have already been included in the prices consumers pay at the check-out counters.

And the amount collected is significant. Just take this year alone, till Oct 4 even without the GST the Customs Department has already collected RM7.3bil in sales tax and another RM4.36 bil in services tax.

Last year, it took in RM8.57bil in sales tax and services tax came up to RM4.98bil. In 2010, its collection for sales tax was RM8.17bil and RM3.92bil for services tax.

“Some people are not happy with the GST because they think the Government is introducing a new tax to add to the tax that is already in place.

“But the GST is not a new tax. The GST is only a replacement tax (to replace the sales and services tax) to make our taxing system more efficient and transparent,” says Khazali.

He understands the people's fears that the GST will affect prices of goods, services and their consumption pattern. But these fears are unfounded, he says.

“There is a zero tax on a lot of basic necessities (see chart) and we are giving exemptions on critical services (schools, hospitals, public transport, tolls, banking),” he explains.

“Consumers should be better off as essential food like rice, vegetables, cooking oil and fish are not subject to GST at all.”

Currently, the people are already paying a sales tax of 5% to10% and services tax of 6% on goods and services. With a proposed 4% GST rate, prices of these goods and services would in fact, be down.

He says this is because suppliers and manufacturer get a refund on what they pay as GST to produce their goods; so with the GST regime, they would now have to remove these elements from their cost.

“We have gone around to meet the suppliers to make sure that whatever cost savings they get (from their refund), will be passed on to the clients and consumers. We will ensure the public do not pay more when the GST is introduced.”

However, for certain goods and services that are now not subject to any sales or service taxes, there might be an increase in price with the GST but the rate should not be more than the GST proposed rate.

Khazali says the Customs Department will work closely with the Finance Ministry, Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumer Ministry and consumer associations to monitor prices and release a shoppers' guide to the rakyat so that they know how much they should be paying.

They will also get hypermarkets to co-operate and be the price-setters.

By SHAHANAAZ HABIB, The Star/Asia News Network

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Malaysian young lawyers not up to par

KUALA LUMPUR: All young Malaysian lawyers do not meet the standard international quality benchmark set by their employers, according to a Bar Council survey.

Bar Council treasurer Steven Thiru said the survey, conducted on 400 law firms, also found that employer satisfaction of new working lawyers was “shockingly low”.

“It found that young lawyers practising for less than seven years do not have basic attributes like English proficiency, communication and critical thinking skills and commitment to the profession, which is vital for the career,” said Thiru at a forum between the Bar Council and the National Young Lawyers Committee (NYLC),

He said the problem was prevalent among both local and foreign university law graduates.

Thiru placed the blame on the failure of several tertiary education institutes, which did not include practical skills with academic learning.

“So, what we get is law firm employers having to retrain young lawyers in basic practical skills that they should have learned in university,” he said.

The findings come in the wake of the NYLC's recommendations to the Bar to increase the wages of young lawyers and provide more flexible working hours.

The young lawyers have been complaining that they are being paid “too little” for the amount of work they do.

The NYLC, citing its own survey, said 28.2% of young lawyers in the Klang Valley wanted to leave the profession in the next five years while another 38.7% were considering leaving.

Outside the Klang Valley, 15.3% said they would leave and another 48.2% were considering.

“Most cite low salaries and no work-life balance as the main reasons for opting out,” said NYLC chairman Richard Wee.

He said most young lawyers were attracted to overseas firms offering better benefits.

He said NYLC had suggested a starting pay of RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month for young lawyers in Klang Valley and RM2,500 for young lawyers elsewhere. The current salary is RM2,000.

He said that of the 14,500 lawyers in the country, 2,070 were considered as young.

Thiru and other senior lawyers however, said young lawyers did not deserve the raise.

Chee Siah Le Kee & Partners' Wong Fook Meng said young lawyers should earn the raise they were demanding for.

“They fail to realise that they should be working to learn and better themselves as lawyers, rather than focus on the cash.

“There are no shortcuts, young lawyers must create value and contribute meaningfully to their firms to justify higher compensation,” said Wong, who is a member of the Bar Council's Constitutional Law Committee and former NYLC deputy chairman.

By NICHOLAS CHENG
The Star/Asia News Network

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Watch out for get-rich-quick schemes

 Good profitability comes from making the right-buying decision

HAVE you bought any gold in the last five years? If you had bought, either you are laughing all the way to the bank or you are worried sick that you might never see your life savings back in your bank account.

If you had bought physical gold because you believe the price of gold will go up, then you have made a great investment decision. If you had bought because there is a high income return in the form of interest or share of profits, then you have let greed cloud your buying decision. You are buying for all the wrong reasons.

Other than buying shares in the stock market based upon reliable insider information, I know of no other buying opportunities that guarantees you high returns in a short period of time. You might argue that corruption is a guaranteed clean profit scheme but then it is not a buying decision where personal financial risk is involved. It is always other people's money.

The only common denominator in any get rich scheme is greed. Lots of human greed preyed upon by conmen who will continue to thrive because of gullible people buying for the wrong reasons. Their belief that “there is a greedy sucker born every minute” is justified.

In business, you are hailed a marketing wizard when you sell well. If you had bought well, it will be reflected in your gross margins, cash flow and bottom line. So who should be rewarded more, seller or buyer?

Most businesses are obsessed with selling decisions and place less emphasis on buying decisions. You will find these businesses having higher cost of goods, higher obsolescence, poor cash flow and weaker profits.

In this era of commoditisation where final prices for similar products in the market tend to level out, the buying decision becomes even more important and crucial if you intend to eke out any ounce of strategic advantage over your competition. Buying accurately products that sells, negotiating for the lowest prices, buying the right quantity to prevent inventory overstocking, improving cash flow and in this process creating operational efficiency that will help you survive the battle and eventually win the war.

Even the biggest organisations make poor buying decisions. One great example is Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) buying deal with the original independent power producers. Granted that the buying decision was right in view of the energy crisis at that time, the one-sided negotiated deal to buy at high prices and all the power produced, caused massive amount of losses to TNB. Just to show how one major buying decision can change the fortunes of a company.

In contrast, AirAsia's early decision to buy massive numbers of new aircraft of one type and from one supplier has defined their success path that you are seeing today. New planes versus old leased planes reduces maintenance costs and are more fuel efficient. Reduced training required for flying and cabin crew. Familiarity breeds efficiency.

Planes can be rerouted anywhere and replacement easily available as there are same numbered seats in all the planes. Expensive spare parts are kept to a minimum and maintenance procedures easily standardised. AirAsia, being the single largest customer of Airbus Industries, will definitely pay the lowest price for an A320 aircraft with the best financing terms from European banks.

These buying decisions are driven by the low cost business model plan. The only buying decision beyond its control is the supposedly high charges of operating out of the new LCC airport. Protracted negotiation between the only authorised airport operator and its biggest customer who will win?

To make money when you sell at a lower price than your competitors, you must have a comparable lower operating cost and lower cost of goods. Selling price is now determined by your buying cost.

So if you want to go into a price war, just make sure you can continuously buy cheaper than your competitors and your operating cost kept even lower. The best example is Walmart, the biggest retailer in the world. Using its massive buying power to have the lowest cost of goods, it has out-priced its competitors by a margin across all categories. To ensure it has the lowest operating cost, it has deliberately built its low-cost warehouse buildings on low-cost land in the outskirts where labour is easily available and cheap.

Buy cheap, sell cheap. Forever cheap. Proven successful formula when products and services become commoditised. Just make sure your buying strategy is sustainable.

I have been trading for 27 years and I have lost count on how many wrong buying decisions that I had made. Some were really inexcusable silly mistakes, some were downright poor judgement calls and some out of pure greed. In all these cases, I was not focused enough and was buying for all the wrong reasons and it had caused me considerable amount of discomfort and agonising moments in my business life.

I have a successful brand because I developed a great buying strategy that is able to meet my customers' needs on a sustainable basis. I have a profitable company because I bought well and because I am personally involved in all the major buying negotiations.

If you are on your own, be fully involved in the buying process. What you buy determines what you sell and how you sell. How you buy determines your profitability.

Just remember not to buy pieces of paper that promises you immediate high returns. For your children's sake... Wise up!

ON YOUR OWN
By TAN THIAM HOCK

To access earlier articles of On Your Own, log on to www.thiamhock.com. Honest comments welcomed and approved.

Open sex couple: pay back scholarship, marry or get thrown out of family?

After a week’s euphoria of being in the limelight, the sex blog couple is now facing the hard reality. Alvin Tan has been summoned by National University of Singapore to a disciplinary hearing on Oct 31 and may have to pay back his scholarship while Vivian Lee has been given an ultimatum – marry Alvin or get thrown out of the family house.



PETALING JAYA: They have become outrageously famous in a week but the consequences of having a scandalous sex blog are starting to set in for Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee.

Lee, 23, may be kicked out of her family home after “Sumptuous Erotica”, the blog she shared with Tan, 24, made the headlines in several newspapers here and in Singapore.

“My mother gave me an ultimatum marry him or move out within a month,” she said, adding that she was “a little scared” about the prospect.

She had just graduated with a marketing degree from Multimedia University and is living in Johor Baru with her mother and elder brother.

Tan has been spending leave of absence from the National University of Singapore (NUS) by being with his parents here and his rented apartment in Kuala Lumpur. This leave is unrelated to the sex blog.

Lee said with the slim probability of marrying Tan, as both considered themselves young and not committed to each other monogamously, she might just end up moving in with him.

“I think she can depend on me. I think I can provide financially,” said Tan during a lengthy interview with The Star Media Group here yesterday.

Both said that Lee's distraught and widowed mother had been trying to contact Tan to rebuke him but he did not answer her calls.

“My mother also scolded me and pleaded with me to not give any more press interviews,” said Lee. “But I guess I'm going against that, too.”

As for Tan, an Asean scholar reading law, he faces possible expulsion from NUS besides having his expensive scholarship revoked after his and Lee's nude pictures and sex videos hogged the headlines in the republic.

But he said he did not see it as a “big thing” if the university sacked him and instead, appears to have set his sights on gaining more infamy.

Both Tan and Lee want to break into show business and did not rule out the possibility of becoming actors.

They also revealed that sharing the intimate photos and videos on the Internet were “a mutual idea”. It was Lee who coaxed Tan into capturing the nude clips of each other.

“We started taking the nude shots the second time we met up,” said Tan. “We were fooling around in a hotel in Penang while on holiday and she was totally naked.

“She asked me if I wanted to take her picture and I was game for it,” said Tan, who said he had not gone as far in sexual experimentation with his past girlfriends.

“Most are cowards. OK, I take that back. They are unadventurous,” he said, adding that calling oneself “adventurous” was self-serving.

“Doing things like bungee-jumping or skydiving is pretty standard stuff,” he said. “I want to hang out with people who have done things that are unprecedented.”

Catch the pre-recorded interview with the couple on Red FM (104.9) and Capital FM (88.9) at 2pm today.
Listeners in the Klang Valley can also tune in to Chinese station 988 FM (98.8) at 7.30am on Tuesday.

The Star media group's radio stations Red FM, Capital FM and 988 FM grilled sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee. Some of the topics include:


- How they met and his obsession with women named “Vivian”.
“Alvin has a fetish for the name Vivian. We met through a mutual friend on Facebook, and Alvin just added me.” - Vivian
-
- On recording sex videos.

“It is actually a lot more rehearsed. The more passionate sex that we have is not recorded. It is actually like work.” - Alvin

- What if it were their kids putting up sex videos?

“I wouldn't encourage them directly, but I will encourage them to develop whatever that they are talented or interested in.” - Alvin

- Does he regret any of this?

“We will only regret the things that we don't do. Twenty years from now, I will look back to my 20s and think that I was so awesome.” - Alvin

By REGINA LEE The Star/Asia News Network

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Japan ministers visit Tokyo war shrine amid anger from China, S Korea

Japan's transport minister Yuichiro Hata (centre) and other lawmakers visit the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: AFP



67 Japanese lawmakers, including two cabinet ministers, have visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

The two cabinet members were Japanese Transport Minister, Yuichiro Hata, and Postal Minister, Mikio Shimoji. Their visit came a day after opposition leader Shinzo Abe’s visit to the shrine. The Yasukuni Shrine honours 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 leading World War Two war criminals.

The shrine is seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism by its Asian neighbours including China and South Korea, who have condemned the Japanese politicians’ visit. China’s Foreign Ministry called on Japan to face up to the international community.

Hong Lei, Spokesman of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, "China’s position on this issue has been clear-cut and consistent: we urge the Japanese side to reflect upon history and strictly abide by its solemn statements and pledges regarding historical issues, and face the international community in a responsible manner."

Two Japanese ministers were part of a cross-party group of lawmakers who visited a controversial Tokyo war shrine on Thursday, the day after opposition leader Shinzo Abe angered China and South Korea by paying homage there.

Dozens of parliamentarians were at Yasukuni Shrine as part of celebrations for Japan’s autumn festival.

Among the lawmakers were transport minister Yuichiro Hata of the ruling Democratic Party (DPJ) and postal reform minister Mikio Shimoji of DPJ’s junior coalition partner, People’s New Party, local media said.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has stayed away from the shrine and previously told his cabinet to do the same.

Opposition leader Shinzo Abe, a man well-placed to become Japan’s next prime minister, was at the Shinto shrine Wednesday, prompting criticism from China and South Korea.

China’s state media there said Abe’s visit would “further poison bilateral ties”.

“At such a delicate moment, Abe’s visit... has added insult to injury and dealt another blow to the already fragile Sino-Japanese relations,” the Xinhua news agency said.

“Provocative and short-sighted actions would harm the interests of Japan and its people,” it said, noting that already the “strained political ties have produced serious economic fallout for both sides”.

A South Korean foreign ministry spokesman expressed “deep regret and concern” that such a senior political leader and former prime minister saw fit to visit “a symbol of the Japanese war of aggression and militarism”.

Japan has spent the last few months at loggerheads with China over a group of islands in the East China Sea, and it is engaged in a propaganda war with South Korea over a long-standing territorial dispute involving a set of isolated islands.

Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945 is still a source of bitter resentment among older generations and Abe, who was elected president of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party last month, is already an unpopular figure here.

As prime minister in 2007, he enraged South Koreans by denying the Japanese military’s direct involvement in forcing women, many from the Korean peninsula, into sexual slavery during World War II.

The Shinto shrine in central Tokyo honours 2.5 million war dead, including 14 convicted Class A war criminals from World War II.

Visits to the shrine by government ministers and high-profile figures spark outrage in China and on the Korean peninsula, where many feel Japan has failed to atone for its brutal aggression in the first half of the 20th century.

Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine, located in Tokyo, Japan, is dedicted to over 2,466,000 Japanese soldiers and servicemen who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan in the last 150 years. It also houses one of the few Japanese war museums dedicated to World War II.The shrine is at the center of an international  controversy by honoring war criminals convicted by a post World War II court including 14 'Class A' war criminals. Japanese politicans, including prime ministers and cabinet members have paid visits to Yasukuni Shrine in recent years which caused criticism and protests from China, Korea, and Taiwan.

On August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in the second world war, two ministers – Hata and Jin Matsubara, the minister in charge of the issue of Japanese kidnapped by North Korea – visited Yasukuni.

By Agence France-Presse in Tokyo

No shame, just fame!

For most, what happens in the bedroom should stay right there. But for younger ones today, there’s no problem in proclaiming their most secret of trysts. What’s more, they can find fame – or infamy.



THERE are certain bodily functions and activities you keep private. You know, those functions that usually occur in privies and the bedroom.

But of late, the attitude is you don’t need to close and lock the door on such activities any more; rather, you invite an audience in.

For example, when South Korean rapper Psy sat on the loo with his pants down in his Gangnam Style video, early audiences gasped and giggled in embarrassment at the sight.

Subsequently, that scene has been repeated in countless parodies ad nauseam and the shock value is no more.

Similarly, while pornography has been around a long time, it was stuff that professional actors did for show but “normal” people didn’t. If you filmed it, it was strictly for private consumption.

Well, along came Facebook, which really should have been called Openbook because it provides space for people to share all sorts of things, including sexually explicit material.

The most disturbing aspect about Facebook, blogs and YouTube is the easy access they provide to an audience and therefore instant fame.

Narcissistic self-glorification without justification is almost the norm. That “I’m famous for being famous” mantra that is most identified with the Kardashians has infected millions around the world. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it gets you noticed.

Which was what that National University of Singapore law student and his girlfriend did.

According to reports, the couple started innocuously enough. They met on Facebook and, like million of others, started posting photos of themselves.

Then they started taking nude shots of themselves and “After taking more and more photos, we started to want some sort of recognition for our work so we uploaded them on Facebook,” said Alvin Tan Jye Yee.

When those photos got flagged and removed by site administrators, Tan, 24, and Vivian Lee, 23, started an erotic blog last month showing photographs and videos of themselves having sex. Suddenly, they are famous and they seem mighty proud of it.

What has taken many aback is that, in the onslaught of publicity, they have responded with icy-cool insouciance that is as brazen as their postings.

It is this completely unrepentant attitude that stuns many – it’s so un-Asian, un-Malaysian.

Lee was quoted as saying that she was not worried whether her parents and family were upset – even though she said she got the “mother of scoldings” from them – nor what others thought of them. In fact, they would carry on as they enjoyed what they did.

Now these two young people are not aimless school dropouts with no future nor purpose in life: she is a business studies graduate and he is an Asean scholar which is no mean feat. One can assume these are bright young adults who knew exactly what they were doing when they did what they did.

Yet, one cannot help wonder: What the blazes were they thinking?

Did they really think it was all right to “star” in their own porn and make it public? Did they not think it was shameful and inappropriate behaviour? Did they believe that there was no stigma attached to their actions nor consequences to their actions?

From their responses, it appears that they really do think so: yes, it’s all right and dandy. And they could be right, as disturbing as the thought is to older folk.

Really, it is the older generation who are most flustered and shocked by the duo’s actions. The younger ones are generally blasé to it; after all, they have grown up on a diet of overt eroticism and sexuality that is all over MTV, the Internet, movies, graphic novels and manga.

For them, as old restrictions, mores and morals become increasingly ambiguous, the line between the sacred and the profane has blurred.

What’s more, to Netizens, what Tan and Lee did is nothing new. At most, there’s a bit of a novelty factor because they are Malaysians.

There is talk that the couple may be charged for breaking Singapore’s Films Act for producing and uploading porn and Tan might be expelled for breaching NUS’s students code of conduct.

Again, the couple have responded with indifference. Tan, a final year student, is reportedly on leave from NUS and has started his own firm which he said was “doing pretty well, so that’s actually my career plan anyway”.

Not only that, thanks to their erotic antics, Tan claimed they have been asked to endorse sex toys and lingerie by Singapore companies!

Indeed, Tan’s clearly articulated intention to leverage on their new-found fame – “We want Alvin and Vivian to become a household name, ... known for being a sexually open duo” – makes you wonder whether it was all carefully orchestrated by two wily people who know that this is the kind of publicity that can lead to quick and good money.

And because there is always the next scandal, the next shocking antic coming up on Facebook or YouTube, they will go from infamy back to anonymity by, say, next Monday.

So why worry, what was good for a Kardashian can be good for a Tan and Lee. Or put it another way: what is one person’s shame is another’s fame.

Comment by JUNE H.L. WONG

Related post:

A couple sex & private affairs make public, cheap show to no way!

A couple sex & private affairs make public, cheap show to no way!

Raunchy duo:

 

A Malaysian scholar in Singapore created cyber furore after he posted nude erotic pictures of himself and his girlfriend in his blog called Sumptuous Erotica.

Alvin Tan Jye Yee, 24, a National University of Singapore (NUS) law student, and his 23-year-old girlfriend Vivian Lee, also a Malaysian, had uploaded photos and videos of themselves in suggestive posts as well as having sex.

The blog has since been deactivated after both Tan and Lee came under heavy fire over their photos and videos, which have been deemed obscene.

However, both do not regret their actions.

The couple is said to be currently back in Malaysia and Tan has plans to go back to NUS in January to finish his law degree.

Tan had received an Asean scholarship in 2004 and attended Xinmin Secondary School and Raffles Junior College before entering NUS on an Asean undergraduate scholarship.

Tan and Lee had apparently met on Facebook and started their erotic blog after initially uploading their photos there.

“One day, we were fooling around and my girlfriend had the idea of taking nude photos.

“After taking more and more photos, we started to want some sort of recognition for our work so we uploaded them on Facebook but we blurred out the critical parts,” he said when interviewed by Yahoo! Singapore.

He added that they started the blog in September when their photos in Facebook were continuously being flagged and taken down by site administrators.

Tan also told Yahoo! Singapore that both he and Lee have been approached to endorse sex toys and lingerie by companies in Singapore.

The Singapore Straits Times reported that Tan might get into trouble when he returned to Singapore.

Quoting lawyer Bryan Tan of Keystone Law Corp, the daily said Tan might be hauled up for breaching the Films Act for producing and uploading the raunchy videos.

The lawyer also said Tan might have breached NUS rules and code of student conduct.

A NUS spokesman said it could not disclose if Tan was a student because the information was confidential.

The Straits Times also quoted Tan as saying: “What can (NUS) do? Terminate my scholarship or expel me? I can't say I will be fine with it, but if it happens, I can accept it.''

Meanwhile, Guang Ming Daily reported that Lee was unperturbed by the controversy she and Tan had created.

She said she was not worried the matter would upset her family and or about what her parents would think.

Lee said she and Tan did not care what others thought about them and would continue with their “activity” as they both enjoyed it. - The Star/Asia News Network

Vivian Lee defends postings of her erotic pictures and videos with boyfriend

By EDDIE CHUA  The Star/Asia News Network

Lee: ‘I cannot understand why people have to make so much fuss about this. It is our private affair’

 

PETALING JAYA: Vivian Lee, the woman who posted nude and erotic pictures and videos of herself and her boyfriend on their blog, has no regrets making her sexual life an open book.

“I see nothing wrong in posting the nude pictures and videos of our sexual relationship on the Internet. It was intended for the world to see how much we love each other. I cannot understand why people have to make so much fuss about this. It is our private affair,” she said.

Lee, 23, and her boyfriend of six months Alvin Tan Jye Yee, 24, caused a cyber furore when their postings on their blog Sumptuous Erotica became viral and was caught on by the Singapore media.

“To us, the pictures on the blog were a work of art. We are open-minded people and we just want to share this with the world. We want them to see how pretty it was.”

Lee said she failed to understand why people had different perceptions on Asians when they posted such images in cyberspace.

“It is all right for Westerners to do this but not Asians. This is double standard. I cannot understand why people have to judge us.”

She said Asians should not be too conservative but be open about their sex life.

“There is nothing wrong talking about or having sex. It is a normal thing between two consenting adults. There should not be any stigma when a couple wants to talk or be frank about this. I cannot understand why this has to be blown out of proportion and sensationalised.”

Lee, who is staying with her parents in Johor Baru, said they never anticipated their blog to become so prominent overnight.

“It was not done for commercial purposes. It was simply for fun and love. When we started the blog in September, we got a small following, mostly from Westerners. But three weeks into the postings and after more pictures and videos were uploaded, Singaporean and Malaysian Internet users got wind of it, and in less than two days, the site went viral, followed by exposure by the Singapore media.”

Lee said they had no choice but to shut down the blog due to pressure from their parents.

“My parents were upset when they found out about it in the newspapers. I got the mother of all scoldings.

“However, they are calmer now and have fully accepted my actions.”

Lee appealed to the media to leave her parents and family alone and stop harassing them.

“They have nothing to do with this. Please don't haunt them.”

Lee said she was unafraid to face the consequences of her actions.

She would continue to live life “as though nothing had happened”, she said.

“I don't care about what people think or say about me or their perception of who I am. I don't care if men stare or ogle when I am out in public. Neither am I embarrassed for being the girl in the erotic pictures and videos.”

Lee, who just finished her business studies and is now looking for a job, said the uproar would not stop her from continuing her relationship with Tan.

“Instead, this would make our relationship stronger,” said Lee, who planned to visit her boyfriend in Kuala Lumpur soon.

‘Porn’ blogger says he wants to keep doing it

By TASHNY SUKUMARAN, The Star/Asia News Network

PETALING JAYA: Erotic blogger Alvin Tan Jye Yee wants to continue having “a lot of sex” with partner Vivian Lee and he intends to keep recording the trysts.

He has absolutely no regrets about the furore the sex blog he shared with Lee has caused.

“We're going to stick together and have a lot of sex, and record it too,” he told The Star yesterday.

The Asean scholarship holder is currently under the spotlight for his raunchy images on the Internet, but neither he nor his girlfriend are frightened by the attention.

“My parents aren't really saying much about the morality of it they are more concerned I will be in trouble with the law or my university (National University of Singapore). They aren't saying, oh my gosh, this is so morally shameful,” said Tan.

The Malaysian couple also said they were keen to leverage off their fame and had set up a function on their now-blocked blog where fans can send them e-mail and be kept abreast of their lives.

“This is a critical period, and we intend to use this time to build a following. Perhaps we won't do videos and such anymore for public consumption, but we could be bloggers or endorsers. We want Alvin and Vivian to become a household name, a pair known for being a sexually open duo,” said Tan.

The couple revealed that they had received masses of fan mail, including propositions for sex from men and women.

Tan also brushed off the threat of legal action, saying he didn't believe they were “in much trouble legally”.

“People are advising us to lie low, to focus on getting lawyers or dealing with the National University of Singapore (NUS).

“But we are focusing on leveraging on this for more lasting fame,” said the NUS law student, adding that on Monday his blog had received over 100,000 visitors.

Tan, who is expected to face a disciplinary hearing by a National University of Singapore (NUS) board later in the month, said he was currently preparing for the encounter and would decide what to do afterwards.

“I'm surprised they gave me so much time to prepare. I'm just going to stand my ground. Everything I want to say, I've already said to the media.”

He admitted that although his life “did not depend” on staying at NUS, he would rather not face expulsion.

Tan said the couple intended to stay together for the foreseeable future, although they admitted

Porn blogger to face disciplinary inquiry

 Malaysian undergraduate Alvin Tan Jye Yee, who posted sexually explicit photos and videos of himself and his girlfriend on his tumblr blog, is facing a disciplinary inquiry.

A spokesman for National University of Singapore (NUS), where 24-year-old Jye Yee is pursuing a law degree under the Asean scholarship, reportedly said he had been served notice to appear before a board that will take appropriate action against him.

Jye Yee is not receiving scholarship funding as he is on leave of absence and has been advised to take down the offensive posts, the spokesman said.

Jye Yee and his 23-year-old girlfriend, Vivian Lee, who graduated from the Multimedia University (MMU) Malacca campus, have since removed their Sumptuous Erotica blog after coming under fire for posting erotic pictures and videos, including one titled Rape Play, and inviting public comment.

Faced with the prospect of losing his scholarship or even expulsion, Jye Yee told Malaysian media on Tuesday that he wanted to challenge social boundaries and test the limits, Sin Chew Daily reported today.

Said Jye Yee: "What can NUS do to me? Withdraw the scholarship or expel me?"

"I'm not saying I can't be bothered. If it happens (losing the scholarship or getting expelled), I can accept it. I have set up my own company. I have savings," he said, adding that he will return to NUS in January to finish his course.

Vivian, who told the media that she likes to go topless and aspires to become an "AV (adult video) star", said it was her idea to expose their sex life to the public.

She said unlike Jye Yee, none of her previous boyfriends dared to accept her idea -The Sundaily  

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