KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly 8.4 million monthly SARA recipients have used their MyKad to buy basic goods, a usage rate of 99.7%, says the Finance Ministry.
As of Sept 20, their spending totalled RM5.2bil.
Nine states recorded full usage: Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu, Perak, Pahang and Labuan. Putrajaya had the lowest at 94%, followed by Johor at 95%.
Under SARA Untuk Semua, more than 20 million people, or 90% of recipients, had spent nearly RM1.9bil.
The ministry on Thursday (Oct 8) said RM15bil had been set aside for Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and SARA this year, up from RM10bil in 2024, benefiting nearly nine million recipients.
It was replying to Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman (PN-Sik), who asked for SARA spending by state up to September.
