About five million recipients nationwide will begin receiving the second phase of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) starting today after the government decided to accelerate the payment schedule originally set for April.
Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the earlier disbursement is intended to help households prepare financially for Aidilfitri, which is expected to be celebrated next week.
He said the payments, amounting to RM1.3 billion, will be credited in stages beginning March 10.
“The government has decided to bring forward the STR Phase Two payments so that recipients can benefit from the assistance ahead of the festive season,” he said when addressing a gathering with staff of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) in Putrajaya.
Also attending the event were Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar and Public Service Director-General Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abd Aziz.
At the same event, Anwar announced that civil servants in Grade 15 and below, including contract officers, will receive a Special Financial Assistance (BKK) of RM500, which will be paid on March 13.
He added that government retirees as well as both pensioned and non-pensioned veterans will receive RM250 on the same date, with the payment exempted from income tax.
The Prime Minister also said the government would extend the same RM500 assistance to religious officials including imams, bilal, tok siak, noja, marbut, as well as teachers under the Kelas Al-Quran dan Fardu Ain (KAFA) programme and takmir instructors.
The assistance is expected to benefit around 70,000 individuals and will also be distributed on March 13.
Meanwhile, Anwar said the government has approved an expansion of the FLYsiswa airfare subsidy initiative to cover more higher education institutions.
The programme, which provides RM400 in flight subsidies for domestic travel between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, will now include students from institutions such as Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA), training institutes under the Department of Human Resources (ILJTM), government-linked universities, state-owned higher education institutions as well as the Plantation and Commodities Institute.
The expanded initiative is expected to benefit more than 50,000 students in 2026 compared with 44,000 students last year.
-THE MALAYSIA VOICE
