Malaysia: Wheat flour subsidy terminated this year

The public wheat flour subsidy has been terminated this year, according to Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali. According to Sinar Harian, Armizan told the Dewan Rakyat that the production of subsidised wheat flour could not be continued as manufacturers cannot afford to produce the product at the controlled price of RM1.45 per kilogramme (kg). “The government has also stopped subsidising sugar from Oct 26, 2013 and since then, only refined white sugar was controlled through a gazetted price control enjoyed by all Malaysians including foreigners,” he added. Armizan added that the government is implementing a retargeted subsidy that will only benefit a target group of eligible citizens, also mentioning a mechanism being developed at the ministry’s level targeting subsidised cooking oil to those eligible at the retail level, as quoted from the report. His answer was in response to Manndzri Nasib’s (BN-Tenggara) question on Tuesday (March 19) in the ...