KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Every Malaysian aged 18 and above will once again receive a one-off RM100 credit through MyKad under the expanded Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) initiative, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced today.

Anwar said the payment will be distributed in mid-February next year to help the public prepare for the Ramadan month and Chinese New Year celebration.

“On August 31, all Malaysians aged 18 and above received the RM100 Sara appreciation payment.

“Over 70 per cent has already been spent, and as promised, any unspent Sara balance by December will be redistributed to programmes for the underprivileged,” he while tabling the Budget in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Anwar said the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sara allocation has increased to RM15 billion for 2026.

“This was made possible through savings achieved from targeted subsidy rationalisation, including those for diesel and RON95 fuel,” he added.

The prime minister also announced that for 2026, all nine million STR recipients will receive Sara assistance of up to RM100 per month, or RM1,200 a year.

Meanwhile, one million STR recipients under the e-Kasih category will receive up to RM200 monthly, or RM2,400 a year.

Single individuals will also receive RM600 a year, equivalent to RM50 a month, under Sara.

Anwar explained that the maximum amount that a household could receive is RM4,600 — for families earning below RM2,500 a month with five children — comprising RM2,200 under STR and RM2,400 under Sara.

He also addressed perceptions of economic aid being distributed along racial lines, saying that it was important to clarify the distribution of assistance under STR, Sara, Skim Jaminan Kredit Perumahan (SJKP) and Skim Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan (SJPP).

He said under STR and Sara, assistance for Malays had increased from RM4.5 billion in 2022 to RM7.1 billion in 2025.

“For Bumiputera in Sabah and Sarawak, the amount rose from RM1.1 billion to RM1.9 billion, while for the Indian community, it increased from RM600 million to RM1 billion,” he said.

“Under SJKP, the government’s guarantee for housing loans also showed a significant increase — from RM2 billion for Bumiputera, as of 2022, to RM12.3 billion in 2023 and 2024.

“While for the Indian community it rose from RM200 million to RM1.9 billion. The Indian community also benefited from socio-economic programmes under Mitra, Tekun and AIM, amounting to RM220 million,” he added.

For SJPP, Anwar said government guarantees for business loans also recorded an increase, with Chinese small medium enterprises receiving RM11.9 billion in 2022, RM13.4 billion in 2023 and RM13.9 billion in 2024 — representing more than 75 per cent of total SJPP guarantees.

He also said the Social Welfare Department will continue to distribute assistance to more than 560,000 recipients, with an allocation of RM3.1 billion, compared to RM2.9 billion previously.

He added that the Jualan Rahmah programme continues to bring significant benefits to the people by offering essential goods at more affordable prices.

“Next year, RM1 billion has been allocated to address the cost of living, including RM600 million specifically to expand the Payung Rahmah programme to all state constituencies nationwide,” he said.

Anwar also announced that RM250 million has been allocated specifically for residents in rural and interior areas of Sabah and Sarawak.

“This is to cover the cost of distributing essential goods to remote locations such as Taradas, Kudat and Kawayoi in Kinabatangan, Sabah, as well as Entaroh, Kapit and Nanga Segeris in Sibu, Sarawak,” he said.

 Malay Mail – Malaysia