The Malaysian Insight

COFFEE-SHOP operators are preparing to increase the price of drinks to offset the extra cost they will bear with the imposition of the sugar tax, which is expected to come into effect from July 1.

Restaurant operators are also considering imposing a 50 sen charge for customers who do not order any drink but occupying a seat in their shops, said Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association president Ho Su Mong.

“There are definitely some coffee shops doing this and most coffee shops also do not allow customers to bring their own food and drinks. If you bring your own food and drinks, then you must pay,” he said.

In Penang, the practice already exists in an unspoken agreement among coffee-shop operators.

Ho said that charging customers who do not order drinks would be in response to an expected drop in orders as consumers object to the increased prices.

“The one with the biggest price hike will be sodas. For coffee, tea and other drinks made at the shop, even if there’s a price hike, operators are unlikely to pass it on to customers. People are more health conscious these days and many customers will request for less sugar,” he said.

“We will not increase the price of drinks made at the shops even though sugary drinks are taxed, as for sodas and packaged drinks, we will need to see how much the prices are hiked by the manufacturers.”

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said last November all non-alcoholic drinks which contain 5g of sugar per 100g will be taxed and the same applies for fruit juices containing more than 12g of sugar per 100g.

Health, not revenue

Great Vision Advisory Group tax and financial consulting head Chua Tia Guan said the government’s main objective of taxing sugary drinks is not to earn more revenue but to improve public health.

“When the government introduces the sugar tax, manufacturers will also reduce the amount of sugar in their products.

“This will result in healthier eating and drinking habits while the Health Ministry has also taken steps to raise awareness on healthy eating habits,” Chua said.

Other countries have also implemented similar measures to improve the eating habits of their people, some even taxing sugary food like cakes and desserts, he said.

One in five adults is obese while one in five children is also obese, said Chua, urging the public to have a positive outlook regarding the tax.

“This is in addition to diabetes and heart disease, and this is worth paying attention to.”

Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said on Monday that the sugar tax would only apply to manufacturers, while drinks made in shops are exempted.

“For the time being, we are not monitoring food and beverages outlets.

“The best way to go about it is to educate the public to minimise consumption of drinks with sweeteners or colouring at restaurants. We want to discourage them, not make new rules,” said Dzulkefly. – April 11, 2019.