KOTA KINABALU, Oct 20 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim emphasised that he wants every citizen, right down to the poor and hardcore poor at the grassroots, to benefit from the various initiatives in Budget 2025.
He said that key initiatives in the budget include the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA), with the allocation increased to RM13 billion in Budget 2025 compared to RM10 billion previously.
“SARA has now been expanded to 700,000 people, while STR now reaches nine million, meaning both the B40 and M40 groups will benefit. District officers, village heads, and community leaders must ensure that no poor people miss out on this opportunity. I’ve made it clear that no one should be left behind.
“This means the Federal Government guarantees that each household will receive no less than RM1,000 per month, combining all the benefits provided. Not many countries do what Malaysia MADANI is implementing; no citizen is left out,“ he said when launching the 2024 MADANI Rakyat “Sayangi Sabah” porgamme in Likas on Saturday.
Yesterday, Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, tabled Budget 2025 amounting to RM421 billion in the Dewan Rakyat, focusing more on efforts to stimulate the economy, enhance innovation, and ensure a fairer and more equitable distribution of wealth.
The Prime Minister stressed that discussing state or ethnic rights is meaningless if there are still people at the grassroots level who are poor, hardcore poor or have low incomes, and therefore, they must be helped to break free from that situation.
“Why should we argue about state powers, state rights, or ethnic rights? We care for all communities. If there are Malays, Melanaus, Dayaks, Chinese or Indians who fall into the hardcore poor, poor or low income categoriies, then STR will go into their accounts, with a minimum of RM1,100.
“This does not include state government assistance, zakat, from NGOs, or foundations… we are concerned if anyone is left out. It is our responsibility to ensure that no one is left out from benefiting from what the government has undertaken,“ he said.
