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.
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.
