Malaysia's move to scrap price controls on selected food items spotlights the growing strain from subsidies on the government's finances and the urgent need to tackle public sector debt that ranks as one of the highest in Asia.

The decision to remove the ceiling price for chickens and chicken eggs as well as subsidies on selected cooking oil products from July 1 is expected to presage more measures in the coming weeks to rationalise the country's decades-old dependence on energy and food subsidies, said officials familiar with the policy adjustment plans.