BALIK PULAU: Some 8.1 million eligible Malaysians have redeemed the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) aid totalling RM780mil as of Friday, says Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
He said the one-off RM100 aid is part of the government’s initiative to ensure that assistance reaches the people directly to help ease cost-of-living pressures.
He said the government has also expanded the categories of items that can be purchased, including frozen food, giving recipients more choices.
“Any excess funds will be channelled back to assist people with disabilities (PWD) and the provision of medical devices for individuals living with chronic illnesses,” he told a press conference after attending the Finance Minister II Madani Adopted Village outreach programme at Kampung Pulau Betong here yesterday.
He said that last year, RM150mil in unused Sara allocations was used for programmes targeting vulnerable groups.
Amir Hamzah also said that over the past three years, the government had introduced fiscal reforms, including targeting diesel and petrol subsidies to reduce leakages.
The savings from these measures, he added, were channelled back to the rakyat through higher allocations for Sara and the Rahmah Cash Assistance (STR).
“The allocations for Sara and STR now total RM15bil, compared with RM6bil under the previous ‘Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia’ (BR1M).
“This will ensure that assistance is delivered more fairly and accurately to target groups.
“Efforts to ease the cost of living have also been stepped up, such as the Rahmah initiative, including nationwide sales of essential goods at lower prices across all state constituencies,” he said.
Amir Hamzah added that structural reforms under the Madani Economy framework include raising the minimum wage to RM1,700 and implementing two rounds of civil service salary revisions over two years, with average increases of up to 15%.
“Government-linked investment companies (GLICs) have moved from a minimum wage model to a living wage approach, setting RM3,100 as the baseline.
“We hope this will encourage the private sector to follow suit,” he said.
On a separate matter, Amir Hamzah said the ringgit has strengthened to about 14% against the US dollar since the beginning of last year.
Against other global currencies, the ringgit has appreciated about 6.5% to 7%, which he said is a positive development.
“This has a positive impact on the cost of importing goods into the country, and creates room for prices to come down if the savings are passed on to consumers,” he said.
He said the Finance Ministry will continue to work closely with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry to ensure that the benefits of a stronger ringgit are reflected in lower consumer prices and not fully absorbed by importers.
Kampung Angkat Madani programme is a government initiative aimed at helping rural and village communities by matching them with government leaders and agencies to address basic infrastructure, social and economic needs, and narrow development gaps.
This year, the programme will see a target of 400 villages selected nationwide, each receiving an allocation of RM500,000 for community and infrastructure projects under the initiative.
Overall, Budget 2026 has set aside about RM1bil to support community empowerment, rural development and related Madani programmes, including Kampung Angkat Madani.
