If you remember the earlier SARA payouts, this next round is going to feel very familiar — except the government is making it extra clear how it will be delivered.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the upcoming one-off RM100 SARA aid, scheduled for 9 February 2026, will be automatically credited to the MyKad of all eligible recipients. He shared this during Dewan Rakyat's ministerial question time, and also reiterated that RM2.2 billion has been set aside for this allocation.

Check eligibility from today

The first thing you can do right now is check whether you're eligible. Amir Hamzah said Malaysians can start checking from today via the official SARA portal at sara.gov.my.

So you don't have to wait until February to find out — you can confirm early and plan ahead.

How you use it: tap MyKad at participating merchants

Just like before, the RM100 isn't something you cash out or transfer around. It's meant for essentials, and you spend it at participating merchants by using your MyKad.

The funds can be used up until 31 December 2026, so it isn't a "use it this week or lose it" kind of deal. It's designed to give people breathing room.

What can you buy with the RM100

According to the SARA portal, the RM100 is intended for daily necessities. That includes:

In other words, it's structured as practical support — the sort of things families buy repeatedly, not luxury spending.

Quick refresher: what SARA actually is

SARA is a cashless aid programme meant to strengthen Malaysia's social safety net. At the moment, it has two main parts:

This particular February 2026 distribution was previously announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during the Budget 2026 tabling in October last year.

The government says usage has been very high

Amir Hamzah also shared some numbers to show how widely the programme has been used.

For 2025, he said nearly 5.6 million monthly SARA recipients used their MyKad at registered premises, translating to a 99% utilisation rate. Total spending was RM4.8 billion out of the RM5 billion allocated.

For the earlier one-off SARA programme in September, more than 21 million Malaysians (about 96% of recipients) made purchases — generating over RM2.05 billion in local spending.

What happens to unclaimed SARA funds

Not everyone used their allocation last time. Amir Hamzah said RM150 million from the previous one-off SARA aid remains unclaimed.

Instead of letting that sit idle, the government plans to channel it back into targeted support — including assistance for residents of protection centres, students with disabilities and special needs, medical devices for poor patients, and efforts like setting up or strengthening student food banks.

Final thoughts 

The main takeaway is simple: if you're eligible, the RM100 will show up automatically in your MyKad starting 9 February 2026, and you'll have plenty of time (until end-2026) to use it on essentials. The eligibility check is already open, so it's worth verifying early — especially since this is one of those programmes where the process is easiest when you don't leave it to the last minute.