3rd September 2025 - 2 min read
The Ministry of Finance has assured that ongoing improvements are being made to the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) system following technical issues reported during its initial rollout.
Treasury secretary-general Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican said that MyKasih, the payment system provider for SARA, has increased its transaction capacity and strengthened troubleshooting measures.
The system’s processing capacity, originally set at 5,000 transactions per minute, has now been expanded to 15,000 transactions per minute. This adjustment is aimed at handling surges in usage, particularly when recipients redeem their aid at supermarkets.
“Every day, the system’s performance is being improved to resolve issues and ensure it can accommodate the growing number of recipients,” Johan said at a media briefing on 2 September.
On the first day of SARA’s rollout on 31 August, a total of 895,000 transactions were successfully processed. The figure rose to 950,000 transactions on 1 September, showing strong uptake of the programme.
Johan acknowledged that sudden spikes in demand had caused delays and some transaction failures. “When there is a sudden surge, processing capacity drops and some transactions may take longer or fail to be completed,” he explained.
Johan reiterated that the long queues and failed transactions reported on the first two days of rollout were due to system limits at the server level.
To ease pressure during peak periods, some supermarkets have suggested operational measures such as limiting the number of active payment terminals to reduce simultaneous transaction requests.
The Finance Ministry confirmed it would continue making improvements to ensure the system remains stable and responsive.
Looking ahead, Johan said the government would take greater care when rolling out future assistance schemes to ensure both sufficient system capacity and smooth execution.
He reminded SARA recipients that the RM100 one-off credit remains valid until 31 December, encouraging them not to rush to redeem the aid immediately.
The SARA programme, which began on 31 August, provides a one-off RM100 cashless assistance to eligible recipients. Early reports highlighted technical problems at supermarkets nationwide, leading to the capacity upgrades and improvements now underway.
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Samuel writes about personal finance and financial news, focusing on how banking updates, policies, and promotions affect everyday money decisions. He enjoys making complicated financial topics easier to follow. Outside of writing, he spends his time watching TV shows and occasionally convincing himself he will only watch one episode.
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