#Budget2025: Financial Aid For Households & Senior Citizens
Low-income individuals will receive at least RM1,100 per month, excluding additional assistance from the state government, zakat, and Yayasan.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 18 Oct 2024, 07:16 PM
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that poor households and senior citizens will receive at least RM1,100 a month
During the tabling of the Supply Bill 2025 today, 18 October, Anwar said the government will increase the allocation for Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) from RM10 billion to RM13 billion.
The 30% increase in allocation will benefit nine million recipients, or about 60% of the adult population.
"Beginning next year, 4.1 million STR recipients will receive RM100 monthly under SARA, compared to only 700,000 recipients last year.
"The financial aid under SARA will be credited into the recipients' MyKAD starting April 2025 and the money can be used to buy basic goods such as food and beverages, medicine, school supplies, and personal hygiene items in more than 600 supermarkets and retail stores nationwide," said Anwar, who is also the finance minister.
Single STR recipients will receive RM600
"The additional RM3 billion allocation will allow poor households to receive RM4,600 instead of RM3,700," said Anwar.
The finance minister also announced that the allocation for the Social Welfare Department (JKM) will be increased from RM2.4 billion to RM2.9 billion.
"If the total financial aid from STR, SARA, and JKM is added together, poor households with three children will receive RM13,000 annually, an increase from RM11,000.
"Poor senior citizens will be eligible to receive RM10,000 annually instead of RM8,000.
"This means no one in Malaysia will have less than RM1,100 per month, and this does not include other assistance from the state government, zakat, and Yayasan," said Anwar.
