PETALING JAYA: Over 1.45 million transactions totalling RM91mil have been made under the Bantuan Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) program, including the one-off payment and SARA Bulanan monthly cash aid, since Sunday (Aug 31).
The MyKasih Foundation also said that it had taken measures to boost the processing capacity of SARA MyKad terminals by 60% following a high volume of transactions on Sunday.
The Sara aid program began on Sunday, coinciding with National Day.
MyKasih stated in a Facebook post on Monday (Sept 1) that, as of 5 pm, almost 600,000 transactions had been carried out, a 20% increase compared to the number recorded at the same time on Sunday.
However, it said that slowdowns in the system were being observed in the transactions in Selangor, Perak, Sabah, and Malacca.
“Several hypermarkets in urban areas with a high number of SARA recipients also faced online congestion, particularly during peak hours between 1pm and 2pm.
“This may be attributed to the increased number of shoppers taking advantage of the long weekend,” it said.
MyKasih said that 22 million Sara recipients received their one-off RM100 credit on Sunday, while a further 5.4 million recipients received their monthly SARA credit on Monday.
It said that MyKasih staff have been deployed to larger hypermarkets to provide support for merchants and troubleshoot issues they may face due to the surge in transactions.
MyKasih advised SARA recipients to plan their purchases during non-peak hours, such as weekday mornings, to avoid congestion and ensure smoother transactions when shopping.
The RM100 Sara credit remains valid until 31 December 2025 and can be redeemed at over 7,300 participating retail outlets nationwide.
