PETALING JAYA: The much-anticipated rollout of the RM100 Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) aid has hit a snag in Johor Baru, as repeated system outages disrupted redemption through the MyKasih platform, leaving frustrated shoppers and overwhelmed supermarkets in their wake.
At several major outlets, notices were plastered at entrances and cashier counters to inform customers of technical issues, while some supermarkets took to Facebook to alert the public.
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A supermarket spokesperson said the glitches began right from the launch on National Day, Aug 31.
“Yesterday morning, the system was running, but by noon it stalled until night. We spent three hours restocking items from customers’ abandoned trolleys,” the spokesperson told New Straits Times.
“The same happened this morning, forcing many to leave their shopping behind.”
Private sector worker Nor Azura Mohd Amin, 34, said she had to pay out of pocket when her attempt to redeem aid for rice failed.
“I wanted to redeem the aid to buy rice, but at the counter the cashier said the system was down. I ended up paying myself. I urge the government to upgrade the system to match the capacity of users.”
Housewife Zarina Abd Ghani, 45, voiced similar concerns.
“I don’t intend to spend it all at once since the redemption runs until year-end. But there are people who urgently need to use it now.”
The RM100 one-off SARA aid was credited into MyKad for more than 22 million Malaysians aged 18 and above, allowing redemption of essential goods at participating supermarkets nationwide.
