KUALA LUMPUR – The government has tripled the number of recipients for the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) assistance programme this year to mitigate the impact of the rising cost of living.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that the assistance, which began in stages on January 22, is anticipated to benefit over 700,000 people this year, a significant increase from last year’s 210,000 recipients.
The allocation for the assistance has also been increased from RM130 million last year to RM700 million this year.
Addressing Oscar Ling Chai Yew’s (Sibu-PH) question in the Dewan Rakyat today, Amir said that the assistance provided for SARA this year, in comparison to last year, has significantly improved.
For starters, he said that the eligibility criteria for SARA recipients have been expanded to include not only the hard-core poor but also those classified as poor.
He added that the SARA assistance for the household category has also been raised from RM600 last year to RM1,200 this year, while the assistance for single individuals remains unchanged at RM600.
Moreover, he added that the SARA credit programme has been expanded to cover three new categories, which now include self-hygiene items, medicines, and school supplies, in addition to the original focus on basic food.
Amir said that there are 500 supermarkets and grocery stores that have partnered under the SARA programme, and small and medium enterprises should benefit from this programme.
Meanwhile, for Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan, Amir said the SARA assistance will be distributed in two phases: February 19 and August 12, 2024, which are RM300 or RM600 each time, depending on the assistance category.
The assistance will be channelled to the recipients through bank transfers or cash.
For those who live in the peninsular, he stated that recipients will accept assistance for necessities worth RM100 or RM50 per month for 12 months in 2024, with the funds automatically credited to the recipients’ MyKad-registered bank account. – February 29, 2024