“PMX didn’t tell us” – Loke Says Cabinet Surprised by Another Round of RM100 SARA Aid in Budget 2026

One of the surprises that the Prime Minister shared during the tabling of Budget 2026 yesterday (10 October) was another round of RM100 aid distribution.

Minister of Transport Anthony Loke Siew Fook revealed that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim kept a lid on the matter, and everyone in the Cabinet was surprised to learn about the RM100 SARA aid in Budget 2026.

Anthony Loke says the Cabinet was surprised by the RM100 SARA aid announcement during Budget 2026 

The RM100 aid is expected to be disbursed in February 2026, in conjunction with the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration, including the Raya season, which falls just one month after CNY.

“22 million Malaysian citizens received the RM100 SARA aid during the National Day month for the first time, and will receive this aid again in February next year, before CNY and Ramadan.”

“This was a surprise from the Prime Minister and was not mentioned at the Cabinet meeting this morning,” Loke said during a press conference after the tabling of Budget 2026.

Budget 2026 is achievable thanks to the Government’s fiscal management

Loke also pointed out that Budget 2026 showed the initial results achieved by the prosperous Government in national fiscal management, and also implemented various subsidy rationalisation measures.

He said that after implementing subsidy rationalisation over the past two years, the Government is now finally able to return the saved resources to the people and introduce several assistance measures to reduce the burden of living costs on the people.

“In addition to the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) payments four times a year, recipients will also receive SARA assistance every month.”

Loke highlighted that these aid measures are important in effectively reducing the living burden of the beneficiaries. What do you think of the Prime Minister’s presentation of Budget 2026 yesterday?

Also read: Budget 2026: Malaysians Can Withdraw Up to RM10k from Their KWSP Savings to Perform Hajj