KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasional (PN) will introduce the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) cash aid scheme worth up to RM6,000 annually for low-income households if it forms the government, opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (PN–Larut) told Parliament today.
Hamzah said the proposed RM500 monthly assistance would be unconditional, unlike the government’s Bantuan Asas Rahmah (Sara) programme, which he described as restrictive and overly controlled.
“We know we can do it. This is different from conditional aid schemes like Sara that limit people’s choices,” he said.
“When you get Sara aid, you can’t buy certain things — you’re told what to spend on. What’s the point of that? Under PN, we will give cash and trust the people to decide what they need.”
Currently, Sara assistance is credited directly into recipients’ MyKad and can only be used to purchase essentials at over 4,100 participating supermarkets and stores nationwide.
Hamzah’s remarks came amid debate over Budget 2026, tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on October 10, which restructured government aid by reducing direct cash handouts and increasing credit-based support for basic goods.
Hamzah also pledged that a future PN government would provide free pre-university education to vulnerable groups, particularly BPN recipients, and expand scholarship opportunities for deserving students.
“PN will ensure that all students who qualify on merit will receive scholarships to complete their first degree in strategic fields,” he said.
“At the same time, we will grant greater autonomy to public universities through endowment funds, especially for research universities.”
Under the revised Bantuan Tunai Rahmah (STR) scheme, household cash assistance was reduced by RM300, but offset with an equivalent RM300 increase under Sara — raising its minimum annual value to RM1,200. — October 13, 2025