KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Malaysian manufacturers have requested the federal government share a "clear action plan" on the goods and services tax (GST) refunds to ensure the affected companies can make their claims.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Datuk Soh Thian Lai said the transparency of the new government in exposing the real picture on the GST refund shortfall is appreciated. He said companies want to know how they can start getting their refunds.

"We want the government to have a concrete action plan. They said they want to refund the companies beginning next year, so we want to know [the details]," Soh said at a press conference here today.

The press conference was in conjunction with the release of the FMM-MIER Business Conditions Survey 1H2018 results. MIER stands for the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research.

Soh said while conducting the survey, FMM found that at least 100 FMM members were affected by RM245 million worth of delayed GST refunds. "If we take into account all our members, it could exceed RM1 billion," he said, pointing to FMM's 3,000 members.