PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are being urged to delay using the government’s Sara aid after its much-anticipated rollout on Aug 31 was marred by long queues, technical glitches and confusion at stores nationwide.
“Those who can still use cash or e-wallets, let the needy redeem first. Wait a week or two before using MyKad,” Twitter user @gu50217 advised, echoing the frustrations of many shoppers online.
Reports across the Klang Valley highlighted inconsistencies in eligible items.
One user said her sister bought Peel Fresh juice but only the orange flavour was accepted under the scheme, while guava was not.
“Be prepared to pay separately or check with the store first,” she warned.
Others complained of crippling delays.
Twitter user @frieshaaina posted: “Not recommended to use Sara today (Aug 31). I queued for almost two hours just to pay.”
The glitches hit the most vulnerable hardest.
One shopper recounted how his wife saw an elderly woman queue up only to be told she could not pay with her RM100 Sara credit because the system had gone offline, leaving her disappointed.
In some areas, shoppers abandoned their purchases altogether.
A Reddit user from Sabah said: “Many patrons just abandoned their carts, some even with fresh groceries. Wasteful.”
Retail staff were also left struggling to cope.
At Lotus’s Ampang, one user said the MySara100 system went down entirely, forcing overwhelmed cashiers to sort out which items qualified under MyKasih and which did not.
“I could feel how stressed the cashiers were. There are only limited MySara counters, yet this scheme is for over 20 million Malaysians. Imagine the chaos when someone comes with a full trolley,” she wrote.
At Giant supermarkets, she added that staff had to use a special MySara card reader for eligible items, while other goods had to be processed at a separate terminal.
“If customers mix everything in one trolley, it slows the whole process down,” she said.
