Govt mulling tax on sugary drinks

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is considering taxing manufactured sugary drinks to reduce consumption and the cost of treating diabetics.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Hilimi Yahaya said a study by his Ministry found that the government spends RM9.38 billion to treat 3.5 million diabetic Malaysians annually.
"The government spends about RM2,680 a year treating a single diabetic patient, multiply that with 3.5 million and the figures is at billions," Hilmi said, adding that the cost is excluding amputation and other advanced treatment procedures.
Instead of taxing sugar itself as a Senator suggested, he said, a proposal to tax sugary drinks is among the initiatives outlined in the National Food Action Plan 2016-2025.
"We will not increase tax for sugar as prices have already been raised from RM2.20/kg to RM2.85/kg when subsidy was removed.
"Instead, we are looking at taxing local and imported manufactured drinks that contain sugar," he said when answering Senator Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman's oral question.
Meanwhile, Hilmi said the Ministry's National Health Morbidity Study also found that the number of overweight Malaysians had risen to 30% of the population.
He said the study also found 17.7% of Malaysians were obese and 17.5% were diabetic, which is alarming.
Hilmy blamed poor eating habits, imbalanced diets, and the lack of exercise for the predicament.