RECENTLY, Rembau Member of Parliament Khairy Jamaluddin’s two verbal exchanges, first with Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokmam Noor Adam and second with Umno Youth executive committee (exco) member Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, centred on a vegetable used as an insult – the carrot!
On Nov 2, as shadow finance minister, Khairy proposed in his alternative budget the re-introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) but at a lower rate of 3% instead of 6% previously.
According to Khairy, although the Finance Ministry conceded GST was better than the sales and services tax (SST), the former had to be abolished in line with Pakatan Harapan’s election promise.
“Political populism wins over sound economic policy,“ the Rembau MP tweeted.
The next day, Lokman said: “With this kind of finger-pointing attitude, don’t ever dream that you can ever become the president of Umno.”
Khairy’s response was immediate and searing: “You better pray I don’t become president of Umno. First thing I’ll do is sack you for having the IQ of a carrot.”
Separately, Khairy’s riposte towards Wan Muhammad Azri, also known as Papagomo, on a different issue was equally swift and scorching: “You don’t even reach the level of a carrot.”
While I agree with Khairy that even if GST is reduced to 3%, the levy would be equally efficacious in boosting government coffers as the SST, I disagree with his use of the carrot – one of my favourite foods – as a stinging put down.
Khairy estimates a 3% GST could raise RM21 billion annually – approximately the same amount as that projected for SST.
The problem is since its introduction in April 2015, GST has been politically toxic. This stemmed from two factors – the 6% rate was too high while the net was spread far too wide. GST was levied on all businesses in Malaysia with annual turnover exceeding RM500,000.
Singapore offers an excellent role model. When the republic introduced GST in April 1994, the rate was 3% and the tax was levied only on businesses with annual turnover exceeding S$1 million. Both criteria resulted in only 15% of all businesses required to register for GST.
Additionally, Singapore’s GST was deliberately designed to be revenue negative for the first two years. From 1994 to 1996, the Singapore Finance Ministry paid out more in input claims than it collected from GST. Not surprisingly, GST was accepted by Singaporeans even after the levy was raised to the current 7% level.
What prompted Khairy to choose a vegetable as a benchmark for an individual’s IQ?
Admittedly, his options were limited. Using as a comparison an inanimate object – for example, a block of wood – would be offensive.
Equally fraught was opting for birds or animals as comparisons.
While peacocks are admired for their beauty, can the same be said for their IQ? Eagles are majestic birds but are they cerebral? Parrots are one group of birds able to mimic human voices, but do they lack intelligence? Some would argue parrots must be clever to be able to imitate the voices of human beings.
Tigers are notable for their ferocity and status as king of the forest. But does their brute strength and regal status equal brain power? Elephants are physically gigantic but are their cerebrums equally elephantine?
Cats were venerated by Pharaohs in ancient Egypt while some Egyptian gods had feline-shaped heads. But are cats perceived as feminine symbols? In the comic and film world, there is Cat Woman – no Cat Man only a Black Panther.
Khairy’s choice of a vegetable is intriguing. A person who is brain dead is colloquially referred to as a vegetable.
In comparing Lokman and Papagomo to a carrot, was Khairy suggesting his Umno contemporaries were like root vegetables – the edible part is unseen because it grows below the ground while its leaves that are visible above the ground are edible but bitter in taste.
Notwithstanding Khairy’s seemingly jaundiced views on the carrot – an opinion shared by many individuals in this country and overseas – this root vegetable suffers unfairly from a bad press.
Health experts say eating moderate amounts of carrots improves night vision and protects against macular degeneration of the eye as well as old-age cataracts.
Proponents also claim regular consumption of carrots reduces cholesterol levels, flushes toxins from the body while the vegetable’s high levels of beta-carotene act as an anti-oxidant to slow down ageing.
Interestingly, the word carrot has several alternative meanings. Carrot-top describes a person with red hair. Carrot is also a slang term for cannabis while a carrot-cruncher is an offensive idiom used to describe someone from a rural background.
Despite its multiple meanings, this root vegetable deserves better; it shouldn’t be used to describe anything incompatible with its inherent goodness.
Opinions expressed in this article are the personal views of the writer and should not be attributed to any organisation she is connected with. She can be contacted at siokchoo@thesundaily.com
