Increased SARA aid for 700,000 Malaysians starts Monday
Published on: Friday, January 19, 2024
By: FMT
The country’s economic transformation must begin with lifting up the most vulnerable in society, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
PETALING JAYA: The increased Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) cash aid for poor and hardcore poor households will be distributed to eligible recipients beginning Monday, the finance ministry has announced.
In a statement, the ministry said a total of RM700 million has been allocated for this and 700,000 Malaysians are set to benefit from the targeted subsidy programme.
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Last year, only 210,000 people received the SARA aid and it involved an allocation of RM130 million.
The distribution will be implemented in stages, with the funds credited to recipients in the peninsula from Monday while those in Sabah and Sarawak will receive the cash aid from Feb 19 onwards.
Eligible households and single senior citizens in Peninsular Malaysia will receive RM100 every month this year, while other singles will get RM50.
Meanwhile, the aid will be disbursed in two instalments for those in Sabah and Sarawak. Households and single senior citizens will get RM600 per instalment, while single individuals will receive RM300. The two instalments are scheduled for Feb 19 and Aug 12.
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“The Malaysian economy’s transformation must begin with lifting up our most vulnerable,” said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the finance minister.
“The improvements to the SARA programme is the first step in bridging inequality and building an inclusive society as envisioned in the Madani economic framework.”
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The ministry said the aid scheme has been expanded to poor households too, compared with only hardcore poor households previously, with the goal of uplifting Malaysians who are more economically vulnerable.
The cash aid amount has also been doubled from RM600 previously to RM1,200, while singles will continue to receive RM600.
Recipients may use the SARA aid to purchase food, personal care items, medicine 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 said.
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