Finance Minister II says 5.6 million people have used monthly SARA aid, with spending hitting RM4.59 billion and a 99% usage rate recorded
KUALA LUMPUR: An estimated 5.6 million recipients are eligible for the monthly SARA aid, with total annual entitlements reaching RM5 billion.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that as of December 17, nearly 5.6 million recipients had used their MyKad to purchase basic goods at registered outlets.
This reflects a 99% usage rate, with total spending amounting to RM4.59 billion.
“For the one-off SARA Appreciation payment to over 22 million adult Malaysians, more than 20 million people have spent the funds,” he told the Dewan Negara.
He said this represents 92% of all recipients, with spending exceeding RM1.91 billion.
Amir Hamzah was responding to a question from Senator Mohd Hasbie Muda on long-term measures for targeted subsidies.
The minister stated that the SARA payment system’s capacity has been significantly improved to handle the surge in transactions.
“Based on current performance, the system can handle 7,000 transactions per minute compared with 2,700 transactions per minute previously,” he said.
He added that the system will reach 10,000 transactions per minute after upgrades at the end of 2025.
At present, the average transactions per minute is 1,000, taking into account system stability and purchases made by recipients.
Amir Hamzah said the government does not see any significant challenges in utilising the SARA aid, given the high usage rates.
“For monthly SARA expenditures, any remaining credit cannot be carried over to the next year,” he said in response to a supplementary question.
“However, since the usage level has exceeded 90%, this is not expected to cause any issues.” – Bernama
