NEARLY RM11 billion in government cash and essential-goods assistance had been disbursed by September, with monthly Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) recording a 99.7 per cent utilisation rate, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.
The ministry said RM3.6 billion had been distributed under Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) through three payment phases as of September, while monthly SARA transactions reached RM5.2 billion.
Nearly nine million citizens are eligible for monthly SARA assistance this year, while STR is paid quarterly to eligible households and senior citizens.
The government has allocated RM15 billion for STR and SARA in 2026 to support low-income households and vulnerable groups.
“The effectiveness of the implementation of STR and SARA can be assessed through several aspects, including recipient coverage, aid utilisation, targeting accuracy and the ability of the aid to meet basic needs,” MOF said in a written parliamentary reply published on the Parliament website.
The ministry was responding to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (PN-Pagoh), who asked about the effectiveness of the RM15 billion allocation in meeting recipients’ basic spending needs and ensuring assistance reached low-income Malaysians.
The ministry also reported that more than 20 million citizens had made purchases using SARA Untuk Semua, representing 90 per cent of eligible recipients. Transactions in the domestic market under the programme totalled nearly RM1.9 billion as of September. - October 20, 2026