Budget 2025: SSB Excise Duty Hike A Good Start In Combatting Diabetes

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- The government’s decision to gradually increase the excise duty rate on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) by 40 sen per litre in Budget 2025 starting Jan 1 next year is seen as an effective method to discourage the consumption of such beverages.

Senior consultant paediatrician Datuk Dr Amar Singh HSS said the step is a good starting point to curb the prevalence of diabetes in the country, which has become increasingly worrying in recent years.

“Undoubtedly, diabetes is the worst enemy in the form of non-communicable disease (NCD). The increase of excise duty is a good start, although more needs to be done to properly educate the masses on the harmful aspects of sugar overconsumption.

“We require an all-of-government approach to focus on disease prevention and health promotion. One useful measure is to increase physical mobility by reducing car use and increasing public transportation use,” he  told Bernama when contacted.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when tabling Budget 2025 said the additional revenue from the tax hike will be used to accommodate public health expenditures, including increasing supply of SGLT-2 inhibitor drugs for diabetes treatment and expanding access to peritoneal dialysis for end-stage kidney patients as well as enhancing dialysis centres, including those in Felda communities.

Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib, on the other hand, noted that the excise duty rate hike contradicts with the fact that subsidies or incentive payments are still being paid to sugar manufacturers up to RM500 million to RM600 million yearly.

He added, the tax increase will likely collect around RM400 million, which falls far short of the cost of subsidising sugar.

“The revenue collected could have been used to invest in improving health education, preventive health interventions and healthy breakfast programmes for school children as was originally intended when the tax was first imposed in 2019.

“We need to invest more in these areas if we are to seriously commit to moving from sick care to health care,” he said.

Meanwhile, Association Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh opined that increasing the number of private hospitals to 91 in order to outsource patients from public hospitals as announced in the budget  will allow private hospitals to fully treat these patients, even in circumstances that are challenging.

He added that technology should be used to facilitate referrals between public and private institutions, saving patients from having to wait longer.

“This will enable the B40 and some M40 to receive public healthcare funding at a faster rate while those who can afford it, receive treatment in a private initiative with a joint venture concept with private hospitals and at the same time, relieve public infrastructure and human capital,” he said.

On the other hand, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Datuk Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira said although there are a lot of good plans for service expansion as well as infrastructure improvement and development, the association believed that not enough attention has been given to human resources development of healthcare personnel.

In addition, he said promotions, permanent positions, training, career progression and mental well-being are also important matters that MMA has brought up frequently and need to be looked into to retain doctors in MoH to run the expansionary services and plans envisaged by the government.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) received the second-highest allocation of RM45.3 billion next year, compared to RM41.2 billion this year, for the implementation of basic duties, including ensuring quality, comfortable and people-friendly public healthcare service facilities.

-- BERNAMA