TAWAU, Aug 16 — The Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) programme remains a government’s priority in Budget 2027 despite the challenging global economic environment, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
He said the government would continue providing funds for the targeted cash aid programme next year to ease living costs.
“In terms of how the government controls spending … the implementation of targeted subsidies (would) increase space for more effective programmes for the people and local entrepreneurs,” he told reporters after surveying the SARA programme at a supermarket here today.
Amir Hamzah said SARA has proven effective as the total allocation for SARA and Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) this year reached RM15 billion.
“Almost nine million SARA recipients … are benefiting from it, thus proving this programme truly reaches the target group at the grassroots,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the Malaysian economy is on a strong expansion path despite geopolitical and global economic uncertainties.
He explained that the country’s economic resilience is driven by the good reception of local export products and the stability of the domestic economic engine thanks to competitive consumer spending and investment inflows.
“This situation supports economic growth with the unemployment rate remaining low below 3 per cent, in addition to the inflation rate controlled at 1.9 per cent through effective action plan initiatives,” he said.
According to him, the Madani Economy framework has proven successful in catalysing the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“Last year, the country’s GDP growth was at 5.2 per cent, while for the first quarter of 2026 we recorded 5.4 per cent, which increased to 6 per cent in the second quarter, making the average growth so far 5.7 per cent,” Amir Hamzah said.
