WOW, we really are the “sick old man” of Asean: Malaysia currently has the highest prevalence of diabetes in South-East Asia, according to many reports, local, regional and international.
According to our own National Health and Morbidity Survey, concluded in 2023 and released in May this year, almost 3.6 million Malaysians, or one in six adults (15.6% of the population), have diabetes.
That is probably largely due to how heavy we are. The survey states in uncompromising big, bold letters that, “We are getting fatter”. In 2011, 44.5% of the population were obese; in 2023, that figure had increased to 54.4%. That’s a big jump in little over a decade.
Is it any wonder that the government began taxing sugary drinks in 2019? It introduced a 40 sen per litre levy on beverages containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml and fruit juices with 12g of sugar per 100ml. That was when Malaysia became one of 124 countries that implement a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB).
Under Budget 2024, the SSB levy was increased by 10 sen a litre to 50 sen a litre. Then, last month, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said a further hike would likely be announced under Budget 2025.
It makes sense. The previous SSB tax managed to reduce sugar consumption among Malaysians by 9.25% nationwide, said Dzulkefly.
But then, what of all the other sugar-heavy items we love, like our kuih-muih, ice cream, cakes, biscuits, chocolate – the list could go on endlessly, really.
The Consumers’ Association of Penang has pointed this out, and suggested the government also tax high-sugar foods.
But where there is an addiction, we will always find ways to access our drug of choice. So while sugar taxes do work, as demonstrated in many countries, they are still not enough. What we need is for consumers to voluntarily avoid excessive sugar in their diets. We must clearly know the dangers of not doing so.
The government has had more than one campaign to spread awareness about this, about the “war on sugar”. But how effective are these efforts?
For instance, how many Malaysians are aware of the current “Jom Kosong” (let’s go sugar-free) campaign that attempts to make it cheaper for people to choose less sugary options when eating out?
How about starting campaigns as early as possible, at primary schools or even kindergarten, and continuing the efforts throughout consumers’ lives?
Catching them young works: Even young children in Australia – the driest country on the driest continent in the world – know not to waste water, not to use a hose to wash a car, not to leave a tap running, because it has been drilled into them from the time they could read.
So perhaps we can drill it into our children, and even ourselves: Too much sugar is bad for us.
Mind you, we’re not saying we have to give it up entirely – there are way too many delicious Asian desserts! We just need to keep moderation in mind. This is something the government can help us do by continually reminding us.
And since food delivery is such a big part of the lives of urbanites, perhaps delivery platforms can show some corporate social responsibility by incentivising their partner restaurants and eateries to offer sugar-free alternatives – it is surprisingly difficult to find a kopi C kosong ice (iced coffee with sugar-free evaporated milk and no added sugar) for delivery.
