PONTIAN: Kedah and Kelantan have the most number of Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) recipients from the total 220,000 identified hardcore poor, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
The Deputy Finance Minister said that about 18% of the Sara recipients are from the two states, which had been distributed since July 17 after it was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"Sara is an additional aid besides the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), which is only given to the hardcore poor with a monthly income of less than RM1,169 a month.
"STR is a financial aid given to those who earn RM5,000 and below every month, while Sara is a food aid programme where recipients can shop for essential items.
"Based on the e-Kasih database, we have about 220,000 eligible individuals where the highest number of recipients are from Kedah with 21,463 recipients, followed by Kelantan with 20,796 recipients," he said when met by reporters after visiting the aid recipients at GS Mart Pulai Sebatang, here, on Sunday (Aug 20).
The total number of recipients in Peninsular Malaysia alone is around 124,000, while the rest are from Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan, he added.
Sara recipients would be given RM600 in aid that would be distributed at a rate of RM100 a month from July to December for Peninsular Malaysia; while for Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan, the aid will be credited in a lump sum to their Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) accounts.
More to come
