{
  "id": 12646994,
  "title": "Nine states record 100pct Sara usage rate",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/nine-states-record-100pct-sara-usage-rate",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-07T14:56:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/1550045/nine-states-record-100pct-sara-usage-rate"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Nine states and federal territories in Malaysia have reached a 100 per cent usage rate for the Sara monthly assistance program as of September 20, according to the Finance Ministry. The states with full participation include Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu, Perak, Pahang, and Labuan. Putrajaya and Johor recorded the lowest usage rates of 94 per cent and 95 per cent, respectively. As of September 20, nearly 8.4 million Sara recipients utilized their MyKad to purchase basic necessities at registered premises, resulting in a usage rate of 99.7 per cent and a transaction value of RM5.2 billion in the local market. The Sara program, known as Sara Untuk Semua, has seen over 20 million Malaysians make purchases, accounting for 90 per cent of all recipients and generating a transaction value of nearly RM1.9 billion.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}