KUALA LUMPUR, August 22 – The government today announced the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) RM100 one-off assistance, which will be credited directly into the MyKad of all eligible Malaysians aged 18 and above.
The initiative, which runs from 31 August until 31 December 2025, allows recipients to purchase 14 categories of essential goods at over 7,300 participating supermarkets and retail outlets nationwide, with the number of outlets expected to grow over time.
SARA is an extension of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) programme, introduced under Budget 2025 to ease the burden of rising living costs for vulnerable groups. Existing SARA recipients under STR will continue receiving their monthly benefits, while the new RM100 one-off credit will be added automatically to their MyKad on 31 August 2025.
Collectively, households stand to benefit even more, as each eligible adult family member will receive RM100 – for instance, a family of four adults could receive up to RM400. The cashless credit can be used to purchase essential items such as rice, bread, eggs, cooking oil, biscuits, instant noodles, canned food, beverages, cleaning products, personal hygiene items, medicines, and school supplies.
Approved items under the programme will be clearly labeled in participating outlets including Mydin, Giant, Econsave, Lotus’s, Pacific, 99 Speedmart, and other partner supermarkets. No application is required as eligibility is determined automatically through the National Registration Department (JPN) database.
Malaysians without a MyKad are urged to register with JPN before the programme ends on 31 December 2025 to benefit from this assistance. Balance checks can be made via the official SARA portal at https://sara.gov.my, the MyKasih app, or printed receipts after purchases.
The Ministry of Finance emphasised that unutilised credit will not carry forward into 2026 but will instead be redirected into other social protection programmes. For further details, the public may visit the official portal or contact the MyKasih helpline at 03-7720 1800.
