KOTA SAMARAHAN: The Rahmah Basic Assistance (SARA) programme launched in Sarawak on Jan 15 is expected to benefit over 101,000 eligible recipients.
According to Leonard Wilfred Yussin, finance officer of the Federation of Malaysian Municipalities Sarawak, this number is expected to continue rising in the near future.
“Since the programmes launch on Jan 15, a total of 28,000 recipients have started benefiting from the assistance provided, marking an important step in the government’s efforts to ease the burden on the needy,” he said.
Unlike previous years, this year’s SARA programme has introduced a significant change with the implementation of a credit-based assistance system.
“Recipients are no longer reliant on cash assistance; instead, they are given credit that can be used to purchase basic necessities from participating business partners.
“From January to March, SARA recipients who have verified their E-Kasih data will receive a total of RM100. Meanwhile, from April to December 2025, recipients will receive RM200 per month,” he added.
He made these remarks during the ‘Live Run SARA Programme’ demonstration held at Emart The Summer Mall, here, today (Jan 20).
The demonstration aimed to show the public how the purchasing process using SARA credit is now easier and more user-friendly.
Recipients can purchase basic necessities and personal care items labeled with SARA assistance stickers on shelves at participating businesses. After selecting their items, they will bring them to a special counter at the participating supermarkets and submit their identification cards for verification. If eligible, the transaction will proceed with the scanning of the selected items.
He also encouraged more merchants nationwide to join the SARA programme as business partners.
