KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — The increasing number of young people in Malaysia who are diagnosed with diabetes will be a heavy strain on the country’s public healthcare system in the near future,That’s because diabetes could lead to further health problems like kidney and heart diseases, stroke, blindness, and nerve damage. In worse cases, limbs may be amputated or a person might have to undergo dialysis for life.
Khor also emphasised that private dialysis treatment can be costly, with expenses potentially reaching up to RM50,000 annually for patients, adding that, the number of new individuals requiring dialysis has increased from 6,700 in 2012 to 9,600 last year.
“They didn’t eat so much fast food and because of that the diabetes appeared much later. We had people getting diabetes only when they are 60 while some might not even develop it during their lifetime,” Ikram was quoted as saying. She also emphasised that the allocation for diabetes treatment, accounting for about 13 per cent of the Health Ministry's budget, could potentially be utilised more effectively on other healthcare priorities.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced a 10 sen increase in the excise duty on sugary premix drinks, from 40 sen to 50 sen per litre for Budget 2024. “People will not feel the pinch with a 10 cent increase and they will just keep on paying for these drinks. The duty could have been increased by at least 50 cents.Mohideen also hoped Malaysia would follow Singapore's lead in mandating nutrition labels on sugary drinks.