{
  "id": 16543054,
  "title": "Giving only Langkawi tax autonomy a bad precedent, says economist",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/giving-only-langkawi-tax-autonomy-a-bad-precedent-says-economist",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-26T00:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/26/giving-only-langkawi-tax-autonomy-a-bad-precedent-says-economist"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Economist Carmelo Ferlito has criticized MP Suhaimi Abdullah's proposal to grant Langkawi tax autonomy, arguing that such a move would set a troubling precedent. Ferlito supports fiscal decentralisation in principle, as it enhances accountability and decentralises decision-making closer to the people. However, he believes this cannot be implemented selectively for just one area, Langkawi. Doing so would likely prompt similar demands from other regions, resulting in a patchwork of exceptions. Instead, Ferlito advocates for a nationwide approach to fiscal reform, with both revenue and expenditures managed at the state and local levels, while retaining only major national functions at the federal level.",
  "summary": "Carmelo Ferlito says other states will make similar demands, and Malaysia could end up becoming 'a patchwork of exceptions'.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}