KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — The government will increase the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) to RM500 per household for this year from the current RM300, starting Monday next week.
The allocation for the STR’s Phase 1 will consequently climb 26 per cent from the previous year, to RM2.1 billion in efforts to help a larger number of people in dealing with the rising cost of living.
In a statement, the Finance Ministry said the increase will benefit a total of 8.2 million eligible individuals who have registered for this year’s STR (STR 2024).
The ministry also said the figure is expected to rise to about nine million eligible individuals once new applications are accepted throughout the year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the finance minister, said spiralling cost of living was one of the main issues raised to him during his engagements with Malaysians.
“I understand the hardships and the government is working hard to ensure that the assistance can be increased significantly so that this basic problem can be resolved.
“No one will be left behind under the administration of the Madani government,” he said in the statement.
Anwar said the government will ensure that low-income households will continue to be given appropriate assistance.
He said this was in-line with the Madani Economy Framework to “raise the bar” in terms of the people’s quality of life.
“The Madani government is always sensitive to the people’s complaints and will continue to improve STR in an effort to assist the people in facing challenges brought on by the cost of living,” he said.
The Finance Ministry said Phase 1 payments for registered recipients will be credited into their bank accounts or distributed in cash through Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) in stages starting this coming Monday.
It said the disbursement will be made according to their respective STR qualification categories.
The ministry also advised the public to be wary of fake links on the STR programme by unscrupulous parties.
