Govt provides breakdown of Rahmah cash, necessities aid

BUDGET 2025 | The government has provided a breakdown of the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) and Rahmah Necessities Aid (Sara) announced in the Budget 2025 tabled by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday.

Under the new allocation, 5.4 million STR recipients in the household and senior citizen categories will receive Sara of up to RM100 per month, to be distributed through MyKads starting April 2025.

The maximum amount received by households has increased to RM4,600.

An expected 3.1 million households in RM2,500 and below monthly income category may receive a maximum of RM3,400 in STR and Sara assistance (depending on the number of dependent children).

There are one million households in the RM2,501-RM5,000 bracket. For this category the maximum STR and Sara is RM2,150.

Some 1.3 million single senior citizens with a monthly income of RM5,000 and lower have a combined STR and Sara ceiling of RM1,050, while 3.4 million recipients in the single 21-59 year age bracket with a monthly income of RM2,500 and lower will qualify for RM600.

Aside from that, those in the poor and hardcore poor categories may receive an additional RM1,200 yearly, which applies to all the aforementioned categories.

Measures to improve management

In announcing the move on Friday, Anwar noted that the government is taking measures to improve disbursement management, correct inefficiencies, and avoid leakages, including through rationalising its subsidies and expanding the government’s revenue base.

“Therefore, for 2025, the government will provide the largest increase for STR and Sara, amounting to RM13 billion compared to RM10 billion this year.

“This increase will benefit nine million recipients, equivalent to 60 percent of the country’s adult population.

“Next year, 4.1 million STR recipients in the household category will receive Sara of RM100 per month, compared to 700,000 recipients this year,” he said during the Budget 2025 speech in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said this can be used to purchase basic necessities such as food and beverages, medicine, school supplies, and personal hygiene items at over 600 supermarkets and retail stores across the country.

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