The government has hiked 'sin taxes' on tobacco and alcohol in today's budget as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his government was intent on promoting clean living.

"To encourage Malaysians to adopt a healthy lifestyle, the government proposes that tax on liquor and cigarettes be increased," Abdullah said in his budget speech to parliament.

"Overall, the average increase in tax for liquor is 9.0 percent, whereas the average increase for cigarettes is 13 percent."

Cigarettes, cheroots, cigars and cigarillos were previously hit with an import duty of RM200 per kilogram or 20 sen per stick with an excise duty of RM81 per kilo and a sales tax of 25 percent.

The government has decided to lower the sales tax of both tobacco and alcohol to 5 percent but substantially increase the excise duties.

The new taxes will be effective at 4pm today.

Muslims who make up 60 percent of Malaysia's population are not allowed to drink alcohol under the precepts of the religion. However, alcoholic drinks are freely available except in the most conservative parts of the country.