Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today announced that the government will abolish the sugar subsidy of 34 sen, effective tomorrow.

Currently, a kilogram of sugar cost RM2.50 in Peninsular Malaysia and RM2.60 in East Malaysia.

NONENajib, who is also the finance minister made the announcement when tabling the 2014 Budget in Dewan Rakyat.

He said the move was to reduce the number of diabetics in the country as statistics showed that 2.6 million Malaysians under the age of 30 are suffering from diabetes.

"Based on statistics there are 2.6 million Malaysians under the age of 30 suffering from diabetes," he said.

Najib said if left untreated, patients will face serious complications such as heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputation.

"I urge Malaysians to take care of their health and reduce sugar in your food and drinks," he said.

RM100 aid and RM250 book voucher

Meanwhile, the government will continue giving RM100 in schooling assistance to all primary and secondary school students, totalling about 5.4 million people.

This is the third year the government is giving such aid to help ease the financial burden of parents with their children's schooling expenses, especially when school reopens for the new session.

NONEWhen tabling the budget, Najib said the government was allocating RM540 million for the purpose.

"I understand some parents have donated the schooling assistance to the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA).

"The government appreciates the kind gesture," he added.

The government would also continue with the 1Malaysia Book Voucher Programme valued at RM250 to each students in pre-university and institutions of higher learning to help them with the purchase of books and reference materials.

"The initiative is expected to benefit 1.3 million students involving an allocation of RM325 million," he added.

The 1Malaysia Book Voucher was introduced during the 2012 Budget.

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