Aid rush: Ameer Ali speaking about the recipients of the Sara aid and the redeemable items at the Mydin Subang Jaya hypermarket. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
SUBANG JAYA: Mydin will extend its operating hours to 1am this weekend to ease congestion from shoppers redeeming the RM100 Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) aid, said managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin.
He said the move was to prevent long queues and system glitches caused by heavy usage during peak hours at all 50 Mydin outlets.
“The glitches happened because everyone tried to use it at the same time. Some customers had to wait two to three hours in line just to redeem their Sara aid,” he told reporters at a Mydin outlet here.
With the long weekend ahead, Ameer Ali expects an even larger crowd.
“To manage this, outlets will open at 7am and close at 1am,” he said.
He added that Mydin is planning to open more counters for Sara transactions if system provider MyKasih stabilises the platform.
“Currently, we have five terminals. Increasing the number of terminals and extending shopping hours will reduce system lags and speed up queues,” Ameer Ali said.
Yesterday, it was reported that more than 2.9 million people had purchased essential goods using the RM100 Sara aid in the first three days of its rollout, with total spending reaching RM192.4mil nationwide.
