The Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) network has grown to 14,068 participating premises nationwide, giving you more places to use your monthly assistance on everyday essentials. That’s a big increase from the roughly 700 business partners when the programme was first introduced in 2024.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the larger  network is meant to make SARA easier to access by bringing participating retailers closer to the communities that receive the assistance. The government said it will continue expanding the network, particularly in rural and island areas where access can be more challenging.

More Than RM500 Million Spent In Sabah 

Sabah now has 1,495 SARA business partners, including 32 premises in Semporna and 115 in Tawau. As of 7 August 2026, SARA recipients in the state had spent RM501.2 million from their monthly allocations, covering 815,689 recipients.

For the SARA for All category, RM158.9 million had been spent by 1.8 million recipients in Sabah during the same period. That was 88% of the allocation. Amir Hamzah said the high transaction rate showed that geographical challenges had not stopped people in Sabah from using the assistance credited directly to their MyKad.

More Choices For Everyday Needs 

The SARA network now covers more than 150,000 essential items, including groceries, personal hygiene products and frozen food such as chicken and nuggets. So if you receive SARA, the wider network gives you more options for where you can spend the assistance and what you can buy with it.

Small retailers and village cooperatives can also participate through free point-of-sale systems provided by the government. This removes the need for traders to purchase their own equipment to accept SARA payments, which could make it easier for smaller shops to join the network.

The expansion comes as the government increases its overall allocation for Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and SARA. The combined allocation has risen from RM10 billion in 2024 to RM15 billion this year.

Amir Hamzah said the government would continue identifying areas facing access challenges to ensure eligible recipients can benefit from SARA.

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Christina Chandra

Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.

About THE AUTHOR

Christina Chandra

Christina Chandra

Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister's cats.

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