Pictures of President Halimah launching Milo Gao Kosong seemed to have gotten Singaporeans pretty riled up.

Some say that’s not her job. Some say President shouldn’t promote commercial products. Others say it’s not new because milo tin doesn’t contain sugar.

Aiyoh…relak a bit lah. President Halimah promoting Milo kosong lah, not kosong in people’s bank account.

If there are two good reasons why Madam President agreed to grace the event as Guest-of-Honour, this would be our guess:

1) Singapore is fighting a war on diabetes

In case you’re wondering how serious is this problem such that even the President wants to encourage Singaporeans to reduce sugar intake, basically more than 400,000 Singaporeans suffer from diabetes.

1 in 3 Singaporeans faces a lifetime risk of getting it.

If things get out of hand, more than one million Singaporeans will be down with diabetes by 2050.

So what really happened was that President Halimah asked Nestle Singapore if it was possible to have Milo with no added sugar.

That’s because there is added table sugar in milo tin.

Take a look at the milo tin’s ingredients:

If you still taste slight sweetness from Milo Gao Kosong, it’s probably from the milk and malt (underlined in black in the picture above).

2) Singaporeans love milo

Remember that iconic milo van that appeared in our school during sports day and we could all queue up for free milo in small cups?

It’s still happening today.

Even Sing! China finalist Nathan Hartono professed his love for Milo and said he would treat Singaporeans to his favourite drink if he won the contest.

Milo heard it and promised everyone free milo regardless of the contest outcome.

In short

Milo is more than just a commercial drink. It’s a drink that all Singaporeans can identity with. And if they can go sugarless, why can’t other drinks manufacturers do that?

So if you thought President Halimah was there to “promote” Milo, try to read into what’s left unsaid.

The hidden message is more important than what you see.

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