Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said eligibility checks can be made from today via the sara.gov.my portal.
He said a total of RM2.2 billion has been set aside to benefit all Malaysians.
“No application is necessary. It will be credited automatically into recipients’ respective MyKad, and is valid for use until Dec 31, 2026,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Amir Hamzah was replying to a question from Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa (PH-Sekijang) regarding the total allocation for the SARA programme through the MyKasih system that was spent in 2025 and the actual transaction value generated in the local market.
The programme is a part of the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) initiative under Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), which aims to help the people face the rising cost of living through targeted cashless aid.
Meanwhile, Amir Hamzah said the government is still studying the proposal to include wet food as a new category under the SARA programme to ensure the aspects of quality, food safety and guarantees to consumers before any decision is made.
He said that as of Tuesday (Feb 3), the total number of SARA merchant partners increased to 10,700 outlets nationwide, compared with only 700 in 2024, adding that of the total, 3,000 are small traders.
“We have heard the address by the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim), who emphasised that we will further expand the SARA network and the target this year is for the number of small grocery shops to be increased to 10,000 outlets,” he said.
As such, he said, this will result in the distance from the nearest sundry shop to a recipient being reduced from 10 kilometres (km) to seven km.
He was replying to a supplementary question from Dr Zaliha, who asked if the government is willing to consider improving the terms and approval period for applications as SARA merchant partners, as well as including wet goods in the product category under the programme.– BERNAMA
