KUCHNG: The distribution of the RM100 Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA or Sara Appreciation Aid) cash aid has received mixed reactions from recipients here.
For 35-year-old hotel supervisor, Shafeenaz Shein Shahruzzami, the RM100 is helpful and sufficient.
“As a single person, I think it’s enough for a month for me. I use it to buy basic necessities like rice, cooking oil and eggs,” she said when met today.
However, Fitriana Abdullah, 51, a housewife originally from Sri Aman but now living in Kuching, said the aid was not enough, especially for big families.
“I have a family of seven, including grandchildren. Today, I buy groceries with my own money. Maybe I will make use of it at the end of this month since the aid expires at the end of this year,” she said.
Elly Gie, 35, from Saratok but now residing in Kuching, plans to use the aid during her off days to buy essentials.
“Definitely it’s better than nothing but I wish it could be more! These days, because of the rise in living expenses, RM100 is barely enough, especially for people who cannot even afford to buy food,” she said.
Chong Sim Moi, a 57-year-old housewife, is grateful for the RM100 which she uses to buy basic necessities for this month.
“If you really think about it, RM100 is, of course, barely enough per person but I am sure some families have six grown up children living in a house. I am sure the children will chip in too. Just be grateful,” she said.
Meanwhile, some recipients also voiced concern over long queues and delays at the aid distribution points, which added frustration to what should have been a straightforward process.
They said it could be quite frustrating, especially when the system was not working and people wre already queueing up with baskets of goods to be paid using the aid.
According to Bernama report, a total of 22 million Malaysian MyKad holders can check their eligibility for the Sara Appreciation Aid via the official SARA portal at http://sara.gov.my, starting yesterday.
With the implementation SARA Appreciation Aid, total allocations under STR (Sumbangan Tunai Ramah) and Sara Programmes had been increased from RM13 billion to RM15 billion for 2025, which is 50 per cent more than the RM10 billion allocated in 2024.
