Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said the hike, at only 3.8%, was minor compared with what was proposed.

“In fact, when we did the calculation, the millers had been asking us to increase the price to RM3.20, which is a jump of 40 sen.

“But from our calculation, we took the average and set it at the minimum of 11 sen,” he told reporters at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Hamzah had been asked for the rationale behind the sugar price hike.

This followed the ministry’s recent announcement that the new price of coarse granulated white sugar from March 1 onwards was RM2.95 per kg, up from the previous RM2.84.

“Malaysians should thank me instead of being angry with me,” Hamzah said.

“Most (of the sugar) is imported from Thailand. They charge RM3.20 (per kg). We import from them, and yet it is cheaper here.”

Hamzah said it was a fair adjustment and that the 3.8% from the total should not be a factor for operators to increase the price of food products using sugar.

“Roti canai does not use one kg. No, they shouldn’t increase, nor for teh tarik,” he told reporters.

He said action would be taken against anyone reportedly hiking their prices as this went against the anti-profiteering act.

So far, he said the ministry had received 60 complaints from the public on anti-profiteering.

He added that the government took all factors into consideration during calculations, even to five decimal points.

“RM2.95 is fair for both traders and consumers. It is a fair price and I hope all traders will be ethical,” he said.

Hamzah added that based on statistics, as individuals, Malaysians used an average of 25kg of sugar per year.

When asked if the price of sugar would increase again, he said it would depend on the currency exchange and raw material.

“We would do the calculations accordingly.”