'Abolishment of sugar subsidy too much, too soon'

While it agrees with the need to eliminate sugar subsidy, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) felt the government’s move to remove the entire subsidy in one go was too much too soon.

Its secretary-general Paul Selvaraj stated that instead, the subsidy adjustment should have been carried out in stages to prevent the sudden increase in sugar prices and the possible chain effect.

“As sugar is used in the preparation of many kinds of food and drinks, it's feared that this will cause their prices to increase.

“This chain effect will be detrimental to the welfare of consumers, especially those with low incomes,” he said in a statement today.

When tabling the Budget 2014 in Dewan Rakyat, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Friday justified the abolishment of sugar subsidy of 34 sen per kilogramme as a bid to reduce the number of diabetics in the country.

While agreeing with the implementation of GST, Fomca said that the are “weaknesses” with the manner that the government has been explaining the issue to the public.

“The government must have a communication strategy that provide explanation to all the people. Then, the feedback and the opinion of the people must be taken into account before implementing GST,” Paul said.

It also said that before GST is implemented, a solid social safety net must be in place so that the  poor can be protected from having their welfare affected by any consequences from the new tax system.

It said that the government needs to ensure that qualified individuals among the poor will receive direct aid for basic necessities.

Public transportation not addressed

Apart from that, Fomca said that the issue of public transportation have not been addressed in the budget, forcing Malaysians to continue using “not reliable” public transportation.

“There still is no planning and vision that is comprehensive about the public transportation system in Malaysia. The approach that is being undertaken right now is ad hoc in nature and is not holistic,” they said.

Among other issues that were highlighted by Fomca with regard to Budget 2014 were:

• Income disparity between specialist doctors in private and government hospitals needs to be reduced, and treatment charges in private hospitals needs to be monitored by the government.

• RPGT tax raises are welcomed, and more houses being built by the government will cause the price of properties to reduce.

• Forest farming should not encroach into forest reserves, and forest reserves must be gazetted as permanent water catchment areas.

• A committee must be set up to determine the real cause of the Bertam Valley tragedy. All illegal farming in a water catchment area such as in Cameron Highlands must be stopped.