KUCHING: The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) has accused the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak of inconsistency regarding its stance on e-invoicing, claiming that the party has shifted from opposing the policy to merely seeking adjustments in its implementation.
The controversy arose from statements made by YB Chong Chieng Jen, the leader of DAP Sarawak, who initially pledged to oppose the extension of e-invoicing requirements to micro-enterprises and hawkers in Parliament earlier this year.
In May 2024, Chong strongly opposed the policy, citing concerns that it would burden small businesses in the region.
However, in a recent speech on November 22, 2024, SUPP criticized Chong’s call for an increase in the e-invoicing threshold from RM150,000 to RM500,000 as a retreat from his earlier position.
According to SUPP’s Kuching Branch Youth Chairman, Nicholas Wung, Chong initially promised to oppose the e-invoicing mandate for micro-enterprises and hawkers, and his latest remarks represented a shift towards asking for policy adjustments.
Thus, SUPP accuses DAP Sarawak of abandoning its earlier, more resolute position and settling for a minor policy change.
“It is important to distinguish between ‘opposing’ a policy and ‘calling on’ the government to modify it. To oppose a policy means to reject it entirely and resist its implementation.
“In contrast, to call on the government to modify a policy is to request changes while still accepting the policy’s overall framework.
“YB Chong Chieng Jen’s call in Parliament to increase the e-invoicing threshold to RM500,000 fundamentally differs from opposing the policy’s extension to micro-enterprises and hawkers,” he said in a media statement today (Nov 28).
Wung further explained that while he supported raising the threshold, especially in line with a call from Voon Chin Leong, the President of the Malaysian Federation of Hawkers and Petty Traders Associations, this did not mean he agreed with the government’s e-invoicing policy.
“If an exemption is impossible, he advocated raising the annual income threshold from RM150,000 to RM500,000.
“My support for Voon Chin Leong’s call does not detract from my earlier personal view, and there is nothing contradictory about it,” he said.
By requesting only an adjustment to the threshold, YB Chong Chieng Jen has failed to uphold his earlier promise to oppose the e-invoicing policy for micro-enterprises and hawkers.
“By merely requesting an adjustment to the threshold, YB Chong Chieng Jen has not fulfilled his earlier promise to oppose the policy outright when affecting the micro-enterprises and hawkers.
“This shift from opposition to merely calling for modifications demonstrates an inconsistency in DAP Sarawak’s stance. Instead of standing firm against implementing e-invoicing for micro-enterprises and hawkers, DAP Sarawak asked the government to make minor adjustments, thereby departing from their earlier, more resolute position,” he concluded.
