Last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced RM100 cash aid as part of the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) program. As natural as it is unfortunate, there have been scams and misinformation regarding the program. There are a few official channels highlighting the ways you can redeem your RM100, but the long and short of it is that, as long as your are a Malaysian aged 18 or older, all you need is your MyKad.
As mentioned previously, every eligible citizen is given RM100 this way, regardless of household income. This amount can also only be spent between 31 August and 31 December of this year, for essential items covering 14 categories, and at over 4,100 participating supermarkets.
Reminder: You do not need to register to be eligible for the RM100 SARA cash assistance. You will be eligible for it if you meet the simple criteria of being a Malaysian aged 18 or older. All that’s needed is for your MyKad doesn’t meet any of the criteria which tells you it’s due for a replacement. For that, JPN has a handy thread on X for not only when it is due to be replaced, but also what to do when it happens and steps to care for it.
And while the MyKad is an essential part of the process, it does not involve the Touch ‘n Go feature at all. There’s no need to tie it to your TnG eWallet, nor is there a need to check your balance if you do indeed use it as one.
Here’s all the steps involved in the process:
- Pick said essential goods from participating stores and supermarkets. These should come with SARA and MyKasih labels with them.
- Present your MyKad for verification when checking out at the counter
- (If it’s your first time claiming SARA cash aid) Change your default six-digit PIN – which is the first six numbers on your MyKad – to a new one.
- The cashier will scan all the goods covered by the SARA program.
- Make the payment using your MyKad and the new six-digit PIN. This step will be similar to paying with a debit card.
- Keep your receipt for review.
Finally, if you need to check what’s left of your RM100 SARA after a purchase, you can do so by tracking your purchases with the receipts. Granted, that’s not the most convenient way to do it, which is where the MyKasih portal and mobile app (for Android and iOS) comes in.
The former can be tricky to use as there are multiple subdomains involved. The latter is by far the more convenient, as aside from checking your balance and the list of eligible items, you can also use to to scan bar codes to check if an item is eligible that way.
