SARA 2024; What Is It, And How Do You Apply For It

During the tabling of Budget 2025 this year, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) programme will receive an increase of RM3 billion. In comparison, the previous budget was RM10 million in 2024 to RM13 million in 2025.

But what does this actually mean? What is SARA anyway? Let’s have a look.

What is SARA?

As previously mentioned, SARA stands for Sumbangan Asas Rahmah. This is an additional cash aid from the government for the recipients of Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) who are designated as poor (belonging below the poverty line) and the hardcore poor.

SARA is designed to help these people buy their essentials, such as household groceries and any other basic necessities they need.

How much does SARA recipients get?

As per an announcement earlier this year, SARA recipients will receive either RM1200 yearly or RM600 per year, depending on their status.

Household STR recipients will receive RM100 monthly, totaling up to RM1200. Single individuals will receive RM50 per month, totaling up to RM600.

Who is eligible to receive SARA?

SARA’s eligibility requirements are as follows;

• Malaysian
• Eligible for the STR in any of the following categories; household, single individuals, or senior citizens without any spouse, and
• Listed as one of the recipients of eKasih, as a member of the poor/hardcore poor group

How can I apply to be a recipient of SARA?

With SARA, you won’t need to do any registration or application. Any Malaysians who are eligible will automatically receive SARA aid.

How is SARA distributed?

According to the SARA FAQs page, the SARA cash aid is distributed in two different ways, depending on where the recipient lives;

• If the recipient lives in Peninsula Malaysia, the cash aid will be credited cashless monthly (either RM100/RM60 per month) into the recipient’s MyKad. The recipient can then use the cash aid to buy groceries at selected supermarkets or grocery stores located all over the country.
• If the recipients live in West Malaysia, the cash aid will be credited straight into their bank accounts bi-yearly (RM600/RM300 per payout).

What is SARA one-off payment?

The ongoing SARA is distributed monthly for recipients in Peninsula Malaysia, and bi-yearly for recipients in West Malaysia.

The ‘one-off’ reference came from an announcement last week from the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The statement was shared on the MoF Facebook page providing an FAQ on SARA. It mentioned that the government will distribute an additional one-off cash assistance under SARA. Eight million STR recipients who are not from the poor or hardcore poor groups are eligible. This STR payment method will start on December 9, 2024.

For 2025, the regular SARA subsidy programme will also continue for the duration of 1 year to all eligible registered STR recipients.

So there you have it, everything you need to know about the SARA cash aid.