Sara Assistance: Still A Ferry Ride For Woman From Pulau Tuba To Buy Necessities In Kuah

LANGKAWI, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- At 71 years old, Serian Said still travels across the narrow strait every month to buy necessities.

Today, this elderly woman from Pulau Tuba still perseveres by taking a 15-minute ferry ride to Kuah Town to buy daily necessities with the assistance of Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) that she receives.

“There are no shops registered for SARA credit in Pulau Tuba yet, so I have to take a boat to Kuah Town. 

“The trip is quite tiring but I’m happy to be able to buy necessities with this assistance,” she said at a supermarket here.

Serian, who has no regular source of income, said the assistance had eased her burden.

Although she receives RM100 a month through assistance, she wisely manages her expenses by saving a little each month in preparation for Ramadan.

“I only buy light items. I don’t buy other heavy items like rice because it’s hard to carry back on the boat,” she said with a smile.

Today, Serian had the opportunity to meet Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, who was on a visit to the supermarket.

In the brief chat, she expressed her hope that more shops on Pulau Tuba would be registered (for SARA credit) to make it easier for local residents to buy necessities without having to cross the sea to Kuah.

For another SARA recipient, Che Wa Saleh, 66, from Kedawang, the assistance translates to instant relief because she no longer needs to carry cash or rely on her children to scan QR codes.

“If I have to scan QR codes, I’m really not comfortable with it. But with MyKad, everything is easier,” said Che Wa, who also receives the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), another government initiative that helps her survival.

M. Rajesh, 38, a private sector worker who received SARA for the first time this year, admitted that the increase in cost of living had also affected single people like him.

“Even though I am single, my salary is not high. SARA has eased my burden to some extent,” he said.

SARA is a monthly targeted assistance that is credited to MyKad to purchase necessities at registered retail stores.

The number of SARA recipients in Langkawi in January 2025 was 1,720 poor and hardcore poor recipients in the eKasih register.

Starting April 2025, when SARA assistance is extended to STR recipients, this number will increase to 31,000 recipients.

This is part of the government’s initiative to expand SARA assistance to 4.7 million recipients of the Sumbang Tunai Rahmah (STR) nationwide, increasing the number of SARA recipients to 5.4 million compared to the current 700,000 recipients.

This is part of an increase in the 2025 Budget allocation for Sumbang Tunai Rahmah (STR) and SARA to the highest level in history, namely RM13 billion compared to RM10 billion last year.

-- BERNAMA