‘Sugar price hike promotes good health’

The government says that Malaysians are healthier because higher sugar prices encourages them to spend less on the commodity.

KUALA LUMPUR: The recent increase in sugar prices was all part of a plan to promote good health, Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Deputy Minister Rohani Abdul Karim said today.

“What the government does is if we do rationalise subsidies, we have to see which sectors we can cover, like sugar, in order to maintain our health,” she told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Rohani was responding to a supplementary question by PAS-Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar.

Mahfuz had asked why it was easier for the government to cut “essential” subsidies like petroleum and diesel than to those given to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

His question irked Rohani, who accused Mahfuz of putting the government in a bad light.

“When the government does something, it’s seen as negative, but you need to think of it in the long term.

“We did a simulation here before the subsidy (was cut). If sugar goes up 20 sen, it doesn’t mean that coffee will go up 20 sen as well,” she said.

In May, the price of sugar went up 20 sen from RM2.10 to RM2.30, or a near 10% increase.

Rohani was earlier replying to Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing’s query on the government’s plans and moves to mitigate the effects of the increase in global oil prices.

She said that consumers affected by the removal of the super subsidy could still buy diesel at the subsidised price of RM1.80 a litre instead of the commercial price of RM2.80.

She added that the government also controlled the price of RON95, keeping it at RM1.90 a litre instead of the pre-tax price of RM2.62.

Rohani said that scrapping of the super subsidy had saved the government about RM819 million.

Tiong also asked what petroleum companies were doing to encourage the use of NGV (national gas vehicle) fuel in the country.

Rohani said that Petronas, the sole supplier of NGV in the country, set up 164 NGV stations across the country.

She also said that Malaysian NGV prices were kept low, at 68 sen a litre instead of the market price of RM1.48.