PETALING JAYA: A total of 22 million Malaysians aged 18 and above will receive RM100 in Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) assistance in mid-February to help with preparations for Ramadan and Chinese New Year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced.
He said all nine million Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) recipients will also continue to receive SARA aid of up to RM100 per month, or RM1,200 annually, under Budget 2026.
“One million STR recipients listed under the eKasih category will get up to RM200 monthly, or RM2,400 per year, while single individuals will receive RM600 annually, equivalent to RM50 monthly, under SARA.
“The maximum total household assistance will be RM4,600, given to families earning below RM2,500 monthly with five children, comprising RM2,200 from STR and RM2,400 from SARA.
“I am pleased to announce that the government will once again provide RM100 in SARA assistance to 22 million Malaysians aged 18 and above. This will be disbursed in mid-February, to help with preparations for Ramadan and Chinese New Year,” he said.
He added that on Aug 31, all Malaysians aged 18 and above received RM100 in SARA Appreciation Aid, of which over 70% has been spent. As promised, any unspent SARA balance by December will be redirected to programmes for low-income groups.
“The total allocation for STR and SARA 2026 amounts to RM15 billion, made possible through savings from targeted subsidy rationalisation, including diesel and RON95,” he added.
Anwar highlighted that some Malaysians tend to assess government programmes through an ethnic lens, and therefore, he clarified the breakdown of aid distribution across communities:
- STR and SARA assistance: For Malays, allocations rose from RM4.5 billion (2022) to RM7.1 billion (2025); for Bumiputera in Sabah and Sarawak, from RM1.1 billion to RM1.9 billion; and for Indians, from RM600 million to RM1 billion.
- SJKP: Government guarantees for housing loans increased — for Bumiputera from RM2 billion (as of 2022) to RM12.3 billion (2023 & 2024), and for Indians from RM200 million to RM1.9 billion. The Indian community also benefited from socio-economic programmes under MITRA, TEKUN, and AIM, totalling RM220 million.
- SJPP: Government guarantees for business loans also increased. For Chinese SMEs, the value rose from RM11.9 billion (2022) to RM13.4 billion (2023) and RM13.9 billion (2024), accounting for more than 75% of total SJPP guarantees.
Anwar added that the Welfare Department (JKM) assistance continues to support over 560,000 recipients with an allocation of RM3.1 billion, up from RM2.9 billion previously.
“Meanwhile, RM1 billion has been allocated next year to ease the cost of living, including RM600 million to expand the Payung Rahmah programme to all state constituencies nationwide,” he said, adding that the Jualan Rahmah initiative has also provided significant relief by allowing Malaysians to purchase essential goods at lower prices.
Anwar also said to support rural and interior communities in Sabah and Sarawak, RM250 million will be allocated to subsidise the distribution costs of basic goods to remote areas such as Taradas, Kudat and Kawayoi (Kinabatangan, Sabah), and Entaroh, Kapit and Nanga Segeris (Sibu, Sarawak).
