Let coarse sugar find its own price level

I WAS perplexed to learn that our government intends to reduce the retail price of coarse sugar to lower the cost of living in Malaysia. The price of sugar in Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam is RM4.65, RM3.58 and RM4.41 a kilo respectively. At RM2.95 a kilo, the sugar price in Malaysia is the cheapest in Asia.
Malaysia has the highest rate of diabetes in Asia and one of the highest in the world. There are about 2.5 million Malaysian adults who are diabetics. Almost half these unfortunate sufferers do not know that they have contracted this chronic ailment. By lowering the price of sugar, are we helping Malaysians to lead a better life or encouraging them to consume more sugar which could lead to an early onslaught of diabetes?
A subsidy mentality has long been entrenched in our society. I urge the new administration to practise more restraint over subsidies.
Patrick Teh
Ipoh