Mydin hypermarkets will extend the operating hours of 50 of its branches this week to allow its customers to shop more comfortably and reduce congestion, according to managing director Ameer Ali Mydin.
Ameer said the new operating hours for the 50 branches would be 7am to 1am from Sept 5 to 7.
“This move is to give customers more time to shop, especially those who received the government’s one-off RM100 Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) aid and other assistance.
“Mydin remains committed to supporting the government’s efforts to ease the cost of living for the public by ensuring a sufficient supply of essential goods,” he said in a statement.
On Monday, the hypermarket’s Subang Jaya branch opened 16 counters equipped with MyKad scanners provided by Yayasan MyKasih.
The branch’s general manager of operations, S Vishnu Varthana, said the branch also increased its staff to ensure there were two workers at each counter, according to Berita Harian.
On Sunday, it was reported that the MyKasih system faced technical glitches, which caused delays in customers redeeming the RM100 aid. This impacted several hypermarket outlets nationwide, including Mydin, HeroMart, Lotus’s, and Giant.
Yesterday, it was reported that the finance ministry enhanced the capacity of the MyKasih system to handle up to 15,000 transactions per minute amid high purchase volumes from recipients of the RM100 one-off SARA aid.
Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican said the upgrade – a threefold increase from the previous 5,000 transactions per minute – was implemented to prevent technical disruptions, especially during public holidays.
The ministry had said the overwhelming response on the first day of disbursement – Aug 31 – had caused a sudden surge in transactions, resulting in bottlenecks in the payment terminal system operated through the MyKasih network.
The RM100 aid, announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in July, will be valid until Dec 31 and can be used at more than 7,300 retail outlets.
The RM100 aid is credited into the MyKad of over 22 million Malaysians aged 18 and above.
