KOTA KINABALU, JUNE 23 — The government is expanding the implementation of the Basic Rahmah Donation Programme (SARA) by adding more shops that accept transactions using MyKad, including in rural and interior areas, to make it easier for recipients to obtain essential goods.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that to date, more than 13,500 shops have been registered under the programme nationwide, including more than 6,500 small shops.
“Our efforts are to increase these small shops to 10,000 nationwide. In Sabah, we have seen an increase in shops registered under SARA, up to now there are 1,493 shops that can redeem SARA.”
“Not only in big cities, but also in villages and rural areas because our efforts are to please the people who are eligible to receive SARA,” he told reporters after inspecting the implementation of the programme in Manggatal Baru here today.
He said the use of MyKad as a medium for distributing aid allows eligible recipients to redeem essential goods directly at participating stores.
According to him, apart from helping those in need, the program also benefits local entrepreneurs when their products are marketed through the SARA store network.
“If we make the goods SARA, they will sell more and sell better. That is what we are trying to do, not only to provide assistance, but also to help boost local entrepreneurs,” he said.
Amir Hamzah said more than 150,000 types of products can now be purchased through the SARA program nationwide and the government will continue to increase the number of products and the participation of local entrepreneurs.
Regarding efforts to expand the participation of small shops, he said the government was looking into methods to reduce the cost of participation, including providing a simpler and more affordable point of sale (POS) system.
“We also want to make it easier for small shops because sometimes, if we look at this shop, the shop is already big enough to have its own payment system.
“But when we go to small shops, sometimes that is not available. So in our efforts, we will also find a way where we also provide POS systems for small shops to make it easier for them to come in,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amir Hamzah said the government is always evaluating the possibility of increasing the selection of goods that can be purchased through SARA.
He said the government had previously added several product categories including frozen items such as meat and chicken, but wet items had not been included at this time to ensure that aspects of quality control and assurance could be maintained.
“Wet goods have not yet been included because one of the criteria we have to ensure is the quality of the goods purchased,” he said.
Regarding the possibility of increasing aid rates in the future, he said the government would continue to focus on a targeted aid approach and efforts to increase national revenue, while at the same time reducing leakages.
“The more we reduce leakage, the more space we have, we can look at ways to increase it when we have results,” he said.
— BERNAMA
