The Real Solution To The Telco Prepaid 6% Tax Problem

I have been observing the media reports, from msm news items, blog postings, even radio interviews of prepaid mobile customers about this issue. The thing that concerns me about this issue is that the telcos seem to have succeeded in playing the innocent corporate citizens here...

For me, the 6% increase in prepaid rates is just a scheme for telcos to increase profits from existing customers. They are already paying the 6% tax off existing sales, but since the prepaid business in Malaysia is so cut-throat competitive, the margin of profitability has probably become too slim to be sustainable. Sure enough, it is understood that Digi is the telco that has been pushing this hard, and it should come as no surprise that prepaid is its largest revenue stream!

OK, if the price of prepaid is now so low that telcos do not find it sufficiently profitable to stay in the prepaid business, what should it do? The natural options to me would be to:

1. Raise the price. Ah, but this is not an easy solution to make. A price rise may result in better unit profitability, but the loss in market share, especially with removal of non-price barriers like the ability to swap the same number between services, may be too painfull.


2. Cut the cost. May be a little harder to do even than raising the price. With each additional new technology on offer, the cost of delivery to customers increase. And some costs that appear easy to cut have real medium to long term implications. e.g. cutting promotions budget means reduced market share or slowing of growth whilst cutting training, a firm favourite among Finance and HR managers, will lead to reduced staff competency...


3. Leave the business... ya lah, dah not profitable enough to be sustainable, tutup kedai la, what else!

However, the telcos as an industry have actually decided to go for option 1 above, only newly improved with some spinning! Also, to ensure a successful outcome of option without the penalty of loss of market share, they have chosen to do it collectively, together, like a cartel - something illegal in many developed countries and soon to be illegal in Malaysia come January 2012!

On the spin, instead of saying they are increasing the price to make more profits, they decided to 'pass on the 6% tax' to the customers. Pass on the 6% tax? What nonsense! Such a statement only makes sense if prepaid mobile charges are subsidised, but they are not! Telcos are already make a profit after paying the 6% tax. All this talk of telcos 'absorbing the taxes' so far is a load of nonsense! Customers are paying the taxes already via the current prices...

So all this talk of 'passing on' the 6% tax is just spin that sounds better than telcos saying, we will increase prices by 6%! In fact, it even helps avoid clever customers, or worse still, bloggers, from sitting down and calculating how much % profitability telcos will gain from increasing prepaid prices by 6%! 'Passing on' taxes my foot, it is the dishonesty to customers that really gets me about this spin!

Then, the telcos choose to perform the increase collectively, like a cartel! Such activities are 'anti-competitive' or rather, against consumer interests! The last time I looked, the telco industry is not heavily regulated for price, hence the myriad offers in the marketplace, which is good for consumer choice. Such collective behaviour in an industry, even among a few major players, would be criminal in more developed economies.

In fact, if the telcos chose to do this early next year, they would be subject to criminal action under Malaysia's own anti-competition laws, due to be debated and ratified by Parliament in December, with the enforcement under the purview of the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (MDTCC). Interestingly, the MDTCC Minister, DS Ismail Sabri, has already shown himself to be not only competent, but determined to champion consumer choice!

Could the telcos be moving now due to the threat of the coming anti-competition law curtailing such actions by early next year? If so, this 'passing on of taxes' disguising a 6% price increase collectively moved by the industry in criminally insidious! In fact, perhaps some of the telcos with foreign ownerships, such as Digi or even Celcom Axiata should worry about anti-competition laws being brought against them in other countries! It can be done!

Locally, such behaviour by the industry should not be tolerated. Perhaps the MDTCC should consider tabling the new anti-competition act to be retrospective in application for at least 6 months! this should help curtail further corporate evils of this sort against the rakyat!

Antara Ijok, Telefon Bimbit Dan Perjuangan

Saya baru melawat halaman http://nursamad.blogspot.com/ dan melihat paparan sambutan ulangtahun kelahiran seorang pendekar Melayu yang masyhur Tan Sri A Samad Ismail, atau Pak Samad. Melihat gambaran zaman muda Pak Samad, sebelum beliau mula berentap mengasak kroni sang penjajah Inggeris, si Lee Kuan Yew, teringat saya akan kisah pertemuan beliau dengan Pemuda UMNO. Begini kisahnya...

Pak Samad dijemput berbicara dengan para pemimpin Pemuda UMNO sekitar zaman kepimpinan sementara Dato' Nazri Aziz. Pada sesi soal-jawab, beliau ditanya oleh seorang Pemuda, apakah perbezaan antara Pemuda UMNO sekarang dan Pemuda UMNO pada zaman Pak Samad.

Memang sesuai soalan ini diajukan kepada Pak Samad, selaku bekas pemimpin muda Melayu yang hebat di Singapura, beliau diantara pengasas Gerakan Angkatan Muda (Geram) dan PAP (People's Action Party). Beliau juga tidak putus usaha memperjuangkan kemerdekaan serta mempertahankan hak masyarakat Melayu pada era kelahiran Malaysia.

Namun selepas berfikir sejenak, jawapan Pak Samad ringkas,"Handphone". Perbezaan perjuangan Pemuda UMNO dahulu dan sekarang pada hemah Pak Samad adalah 'Handphone', Telefon Bimbit. Telefon Bimbit?

Bingung sejenak anak-anak muda UMNO tersebut, apabila tiba-tiba, seolah-olah dikurniakan Allah S.W.T. peluang menimba lagi ilmu dan pengalaman Pak Samad, berdering kedengaran bunyi telefon bimbit. Tergesa-gesa lebih separuh peserta majlis menoleh ke kocek, beg, meja, kerusi atau pautan lain telefon bimbit masing-masing. Ternyata seorang sahaja yang menerima panggilan, lalu peserta tersebut menjawab, dan tak sempat beredar dari bangkunya, sudah mula berbicara mesra (dengan taukeh mungkin) melalui telefon bimbitnya.

Pak Samad sambil tersenyum mengulanginya,"Handphone". Telefon Bimbit.

Kemudian dengan nada separa sinis, separa nasihat, Pak Samad menghuraikan pernyataannya, lebih kurang begini, kerana saya sendiri tidak hadir, tetapi tersampai juga bicara-katanya:

Pada zaman Merdeka dahulu, apabila Pemuda Melayu dan UMNO berbicara tentang perjuangan, tidak ada "Handphone" (Telefon Bimbit) yang mampu mengalihkan tumpuan perhatian dari prinsip, usaha dan matlamat perjuangan tersebut!

Retakan jantung-hati para pejuang kemerdekaan seperti Pak Samad dari melihat betapa deringan Telefon Bimbit berupaya mengalih perhatian mereka yang kononnya generasi baru pemimpin bangsa merupakan suatu papan-tanda bahaya kian melanda UMNO, Islam, Melayu dan Malaysia. Ternyata juga gejala Telefon Bimbit ini kian menjadi-jadi, terutama apabila Pemuda dukungan Tingkat 4 zaman Lah bukan sahaja kini tak ingin mengamati malah berupaya mengherdik dan sangsi akan nilai-nilai perjuangan generasi merdeka seperti Pak Samad.

Dan bukan yang Muda sahaja yang menghidapi penyakit Telefon Bimbit, yang baru habis Muda dan yang perasan masih Muda pun dijangkiti bersama hingga menular disegenap lapisan kepimpinan negara kita. Lihat sahaja gelagat kaum politik Malaysia di sekitar pilihanraya-pilihanraya kecil Batu Talam, Machap dan kini Ijok.

Di Batu Talam, masyarakat di alih perhatian dari isu-isu penting melalui gembar-gemburan 'boikot' PAS sambil UMNO berbisik-bisik di sebalik tabir akan kecundangnya Dato' Najib sekiranya kerusi UMNO tersebut gagal dipertahankan. Di Machap pula, suasana kempen diperhangatkan lagi dengan terbitnya cahaya yang kian malap, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Kini di Ijok, Anwar terus timbul, menunggang kuda barunya, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, seorang wira yang telah dialihkan perhatian dari perjuangannya untuk bangsa.

Di sebalik jentera dan percaturan pilihanraya-pilihanraya kecil ini, wujud perangkaan, jalan-cara, usaha mempertingkatkan imej kekuatan Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan perlecehan kedudukan Dato' Najib Tun Razak. Kenapa? Sebab Anwar ingin merebut kuasa! Kenapa? Telefon Bimbit...

Dengan kuasa, nombor Telefon Bimbit sentiasa dicari orang. Dengan kuasa, terbitnya nombor Telefon Bimbit pada telefon yang berdering pasti menyegerakan jawapan. Telefon Bimbit...

Mana perginya perjuangan demi Agama, Bangsa dan Negara? Manakah usaha meleraikan pertelingkahan di antara dan dikalangan kaum? Tertinggal di luar perkiraan jika dilihat pemilihan calon Ijok, baik pembangkang mahupun kerajaan. Yang PKR menusuk usaha mendirikan parti bukan perkauman dengan memilih calon berdasarkan kaum untuk memastikan kemenangan. Yang MIC mengancam harmoni parti untuk menjamin kekalahan.

Ijok untuk menguatkan Telefon Bimbit Anwar...

Machap kelihatan sebagai sandiwara sambilan di antara Batu Talam dan Ijok, tetapi dengan memilih calon yang tak bisa menang, ternyata Lim Kit Siang menjamin kekuatan Telefon Bimbit anaknya di Melaka... Anwar pun pandai, perginya perkempen di penghujung pilihanraya kecil Machap semata-mata sebagai persediaan untuk Ijok... seumpama mencas tenaga Telefon Bimbitnya...

Dan di Batu Talam, PAS memboikot kerana ingin mengelakan dari kehabisan modal menjelang pilihanraya umum. Bukan modal wang sahaja, tetapi modal isu. Ye lah, kalau isu-isu hangat diketengahkannya terlalu awal sebelum pilihanraya umum , mungkin BN dan UMNO berupaya menanganinya dahulu.

Yang penting untuk PAS bukan isu diketengahkan secepatnya supaya rakyat mengecapi nikmat penyelesaian dengan seawalnya. Yang penting kepada PAS adalah dengan hanyir dan hapaknya isu-isu apabila tidak ditangani akibat dipendam, sengsara rakyat menjelang pilihanraya umum akan meningkat. Yang penting kepada PAS adalah kemenangan, walaupun didukung kesengsaraan rakyat yang mungkin boleh dielakkan.

Boikot Batu Talam berniat menguatkan Telefon Bimbit pemimpin-pemimpin PAS...

Memang penuh ilmu dan teladan Pak Samad. Semoga cukup panjang umur Pak Samad dan pejuang-pejuang generasinya untuk melihat nilai-nilai perjuangan yang lebih murni bangkit semula hingga berupaya mematikan deringan Telefon Bimbit yang kian nyaring. Insya'Allah.