PETALING JAYA: The removal of the sugar subsidy could not have come at a worse time for Hindus celebrating Deepavali: now they will have to pay more to make their cakes and sweets.
The move to scrap the subsidy may be good on health grounds since 2.6 million Malaysians under the age of 30 are diabetic patients.
But the government should have been a little bit more considerate for those preparing to usher in the festival of lights on Nov 2.
Deepavali invariably involves making sweets such as gulab jamun (a milk-based dessert served in a sugar syrup), jilabi (sweet dessert made of deep fried dough) and palkova (milk sweet), which of course involves a lot of sugar.
Housewife D Ratnam told theantdaily that while the move to abolish the sugar subsidy might promote a healthy living, the timing was inconsiderate.
“Deepavali is just around the corner. The prime minister [Datuk Seri Najib Razak] should have taken into account the importance of the multi-racial composition of the country especially since we use a lot of sugar in making Deepavali sweets.
“This indirectly puts a financial strain on Hindus celebrating Deepavali around the country,” she said.
Businesswoman Thurka Palaniappan, whose business involves baking Deepavali goodies, concurs with Ratnam.
“Before the Budget was announced, I have already taken orders for cakes and cookies for Deepavali and informed the customers the pricing for the items.
Now since the price has increased, I am going to lose out since I can’t go and change the pricing at the last minute,” she said.
Businesswoman T Mangaladevi calls the move very “unfair”.
“We need sugar for most of our Deepavali cakes. They did not consider the interests of those celebrating Deepavali, unless they are expecting all Hindus to abstain from sugar on Deepavali for their health’s sake.
They should have implemented this after Deepavali,” she said.
In his 2014 Budget speech on Oct 25, Najib announced the removal of the sugar subsidy of 34 sen per kilogramme effective Oct 26, bringing the price of sugar to RM2.84 per kilogramme.
A healthy move indeed by Najib, but it should have come into force after Nov 2.
Source : http://www.theantdaily.com/news/2013/10/28/not-nice-sweet-move-hindus
The move to scrap the subsidy may be good on health grounds since 2.6 million Malaysians under the age of 30 are diabetic patients.
But the government should have been a little bit more considerate for those preparing to usher in the festival of lights on Nov 2.
Deepavali invariably involves making sweets such as gulab jamun (a milk-based dessert served in a sugar syrup), jilabi (sweet dessert made of deep fried dough) and palkova (milk sweet), which of course involves a lot of sugar.
Housewife D Ratnam told theantdaily that while the move to abolish the sugar subsidy might promote a healthy living, the timing was inconsiderate.
“Deepavali is just around the corner. The prime minister [Datuk Seri Najib Razak] should have taken into account the importance of the multi-racial composition of the country especially since we use a lot of sugar in making Deepavali sweets.
“This indirectly puts a financial strain on Hindus celebrating Deepavali around the country,” she said.
Businesswoman Thurka Palaniappan, whose business involves baking Deepavali goodies, concurs with Ratnam.
“Before the Budget was announced, I have already taken orders for cakes and cookies for Deepavali and informed the customers the pricing for the items.
Now since the price has increased, I am going to lose out since I can’t go and change the pricing at the last minute,” she said.
Businesswoman T Mangaladevi calls the move very “unfair”.
“We need sugar for most of our Deepavali cakes. They did not consider the interests of those celebrating Deepavali, unless they are expecting all Hindus to abstain from sugar on Deepavali for their health’s sake.
They should have implemented this after Deepavali,” she said.
In his 2014 Budget speech on Oct 25, Najib announced the removal of the sugar subsidy of 34 sen per kilogramme effective Oct 26, bringing the price of sugar to RM2.84 per kilogramme.
A healthy move indeed by Najib, but it should have come into force after Nov 2.
Source : http://www.theantdaily.com/news/2013/10/28/not-nice-sweet-move-hindus
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