Langkawi MP Suhaimi Abdullah has proposed that Putrajaya grant the island the autonomy to manage its taxes and use the revenue for local development.PETALING JAYA: An economist has opposed an MP's call for Langkawi to be given fiscal autonomy to manage its taxes, saying such special treatment would trigger similar demands from other areas and states.
Center for Market Education CEO Carmelo Ferlito said he supported fiscal decentralisation in principle because it boosts accountability and shifts decision-making closer to the people.
Carmelo Ferlito.However, he told FMT, this cannot be implemented on an ad hoc basis for just one particular area.
"If Langkawi gets special treatment, other places will ask for the same, and we will end up with a patchwork of exceptions. What Malaysia needs is general fiscal reform.
