Efforts to provide assistance to the people through the basic rahmah contribution (sara) programme remain the government's priority in preparing the 2027 budget despite the current challenging global economic environment:fforts to provide assistance to the people through the Basic Rahmah Contribution (SARA) programme remain the government's priority in preparing the 2027 Budget despite the current challenging global economic environment, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan. He said the government through the budget would continue to provide allocation space for the targeted cash assistance programme next year to ease the burden of the people's cost of living, especially the needy.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Amir Hamzah stated that this effort is effective in helping those who may not have enough to meet the cost of living, so this is one of their priorities. He emphasized the importance of controlling government spending through the implementation of targeted subsidies to increase the space for more effective programmes for the people and local entrepreneurs. He shared these insights with reporters after reviewing the implementation of the SARA programme at a supermarket.
Amir Hamzah highlighted that the SARA programme has proven effective as the total allocation for SARA and the Rahmah Cash Contribution (STR) this year reached RM15 billion. Almost nine million SARA recipients with 99 percent benefiting from it, thus proving that this programme truly reaches the target group at the grassroots level.
Meanwhile, he mentioned that the Malaysian economy remained on a strong growth path despite facing uncertainties in the geopolitical and global economic situation. The country's economic resilience was driven by the good reception of local export products as well as the stability of the domestic economic engine through consumer spending and investment inflows that remain competitive.
He noted that this situation supports economic growth with the unemployment rate remaining low below three percent in addition to the inflation rate being controlled at 1.9 percent through effective action plan initiatives. He attributed the success of the MADANI Economic framework in continuously catalysing the growth of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Last year, the country's GDP growth recorded 5.2 percent while for the first quarter of 2026 it recorded 5.4 percent and increased to 6.0 percent in the second quarter, making the average growth so far 5.7 percent.