Suzana Mohammad, an employee of a mini market ini Taman Jaya, Cheras, putting an out-of-stock sign on the sugar shelf.
The prices of food and drinks at Pak Su Mak Su’s stall in Tanjung Lumpur, Kuantan, stay the same despite sugar now costing 20 sen more per kg. Many other restaurants and stall operators also say they will not be increasing prices, at least for now
SUGAR-LESS: Mariah Yanti, 47, staring at an empty shelf where sugar in normally stocked in a hypermarket in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Many shops ran out of sugar after shoppers started hoarding it in anticipation of raised sugar prices.
"There's no logic in the government spending almost RM1bil yearly to subsidise a food product that can bring harm to the people," Najib told reporters after handing out awards to students who excelled in the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in the Pekan parliamentary constituency, here, Sunday.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the Prime minister has called on the people to think if the subsidy for sugar should continue as the government has spent some RM1 billion annually on it. On top of that, the number of diabetics in Malaysia remains as one of the world’s highest. He said "What we should do is change our dietary habit by reducing our sugar intake. I myself drink tea without sugar.
This means we can change; we don't need so much sugar.” Tying in the subsidy with diabetes, he added that "There's no logic in the government spending almost RM1bil yearly to subsidise a food product that can bring harm to the people. The price of controlled items cannot be raised....we will monitor this.
We will also study the price of some commodities from time to time. What we do is in the interest of the people. The people should also view the sugar price increase positively, that is, by changing their dietary habit for their own good health. Despite the sugar price hike, the commodity was still cheaper compared to its price in other Asean countries.”
Asked about the effects of the sugar price hike on the prices of other goods, Najib said the government would be monitoring the situation.
“The price of controlled items cannot be raised....we will monitor this. We will also study the price of some commodities from time to time. What we do is in the interest of the people,” he said.
Najib said the people should also view the sugar price increase positively, that is, by changing their dietary habit for their own good health.
He said despite the sugar price hike, the commodity was still cheaper compared to its price in other Asean countries.
