KUALA LUMPUR: The increased Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) cash aid for poor and hardcore poor households will be distributed to eligible Malaysians beginning Monday.
The Finance Ministry, in a statement today, said the SARA programme is expected to benefit over 700,000 recipients in the poor and hardcore poor categories with an allocation of RM700 million, compared to last year's recipient of 210,000 individuals with an expenditure of RM130 million.
This, it said, translates to an increase in allocation by over five times from the preceding year.
The ministry said the programme, which will be implemented in stages from Jan 22, aims to uplift the country's most economically vulnerable population and holds true to the principle of equitability that serves as the foundation for the Ekonomi Madani framework.
The funds will be credited to recipients in Peninsular Malaysia beginning Jan 22 (Monday), while recipients in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan will begin receiving their cash assistance from Feb 19 (Monday) onwards, it said.
For eligible recipients in Peninsular Malaysia, the assistance will be credited every month throughout the year at RM100 for households and senior citizens without a spouse, and RM50 for single individuals.
Meanwhile, for recipients in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan, the payment will be transferred in two instalments of RM600 for households and senior citizens without a spouse, and RM300 for single individuals.
The payments are scheduled on Feb 19 and Aug 12 to the recipient's bank account or handed out in cash at Bank Simpanan Nasional's (BSN) branches nationwide, the ministry noted.
The government has enhanced the SARA programme to provide targeted subsidy assistance to the rakyat most affected by the living cost.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Malaysian economy's transformation begins with lifting our most vulnerable up.
"The improvements to the SARA programme is the first step in bridging inequality and building an inclusive society as envisioned in the Ekonomi Madani framework," Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister was quoted as saying in the statement.
The ministry, in the statement, said the aid scheme has been expanded to poor households as well, compared with only hardcore poor households previously.
The government had also increased the cash aid for households RM1,200 from RM600 in 2023, while the assistance to single individuals remains at RM600.
Further, taking into account recipients' feedback, items valid for purchase with SARA programme's credit have been expanded from only basic food and foodstuffs to three new categories, namely personal care items, medicines, and school supplies
"The eligibility criteria for SARA is based on a database of poor or hardcore poor by eKasih, a referral database for ministries and government agencies.
"Following the encouraging response to the SARA programme last year, the government has also expanded the network of participating retailers (supermarkets and sundry shops) to 515 nationwide as of Jan 17, from 424 last year.
"The Finance Ministry would like to advise SARA recipients to be wary of unverified links from irresponsible parties when looking for information on the SARA programme," the ministry added.
Frequently asked questions and review of eligibility status for SARA are available only on STR's Official Portal at https://bantuantunai.hasil.gov.my from 4pm on Jan 19, while further details on SARA's implementation mechanism can be found at https://www.mykasih.com.my on Jan 22.
