Every Budget speech has a cash aid number that makes the headlines. For 2027 it is RM16 billion for Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR, the cash transfer) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA, the grocery credit loaded onto your MyKad), up from RM15 billion this year. Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced it in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday, 9 October 2026.

A bigger allocation does not automatically mean a bigger payment for your household. The Finance Ministry published the full 2027 rate table in its Budget summary, and it published the same table for 2026 last October. We put the two side by side. The result is less dramatic than the headline: most STR families will receive exactly the same yearly total in 2027, but more of it arrives as SARA credit and less as cash.

The 2027 STR and SARA table

The rates below are yearly amounts from the Ministry's Budget 2027 summary. STR is paid in cash to your bank account in phases. SARA is credited monthly to your MyKad and can only be spent on essential goods at participating shops.

Households earning below RM2,500 a month:

  • No children: STR RM200 + SARA RM1,800 = RM2,000
  • 1 to 2 children: STR RM600 + SARA RM1,800 = RM2,400
  • 3 to 4 children: STR RM1,100 + SARA RM1,800 = RM2,900
  • 5 or more children: STR RM1,600 + SARA RM1,800 = RM3,400

Households earning RM2,501 to RM5,000:

  • No children: STR RM200 + SARA RM1,200 = RM1,400
  • 1 to 2 children: STR RM450 + SARA RM1,200 = RM1,650
  • 3 to 4 children: STR RM700 + SARA RM1,200 = RM1,900
  • 5 or more children: STR RM950 + SARA RM1,200 = RM2,150

Others: seniors aged 60 and above with no spouse and income below RM5,000 get STR RM600 + SARA RM600 = RM1,200. Singles aged 21 to 59 earning below RM2,500 get RM600 of SARA and no STR cash.

Households on the eKasih poor and hardcore poor list get an extra SARA top-up of RM100 a month (RM1,200 a year), or RM50 a month (RM600 a year) for singles. The maximum anyone can receive from STR and SARA together stays at RM4,600, and the minimum at RM600.

What actually changed from 2026

Compare that with the Budget 2026 table. In 2026, a household earning below RM2,500 received RM1,200 of SARA (RM100 a month) on top of STR cash of RM700, RM1,200, RM1,700 or RM2,200 depending on the number of children.

For 2027, SARA for this group rises by RM600 to RM1,800 (RM150 a month), and STR cash falls by RM500 for childless households and by RM600 for every other size of family. In plain terms:

  • A household below RM2,500 with 1 to 4 children, or 5 or more, gets the same total as in 2026, but RM600 less in cash and RM600 more in SARA credit.
  • A household below RM2,500 with no children gains RM100 a year (RM1,900 to RM2,000), with RM500 less cash.
  • Households earning RM2,501 to RM5,000, seniors living alone and singles see no change at all.

This matters if you rely on STR cash for things SARA cannot buy, such as rent, a bill or a bus fare. Speaking in Parliament, the Prime Minister described the change simply as all STR recipients receiving SARA of up to RM150 a month, which is accurate, but the trade-off only shows up in the table.

SARA MADANI: RM100, twice, for adults outside STR

The genuinely new money is SARA MADANI. The Budget summary says it goes to Malaysians aged 18 and above who are not STR recipients, about 13 million people including the middle-income M40, at RM100 per person, estimated to be paid in February and August 2027. The speech times the two rounds for before Hari Raya Aidilfitri and the run-up to the 70th Merdeka.

In 2026, the one-off RM100 "SARA for All" went to every MyKad holder aged 18 and above in mid-February. On the Ministry's wording, the 2027 version leaves out STR recipients, who are covered by the higher monthly SARA instead. The Ministry has not yet published how spouses in an STR household are treated, so check sara.gov.my before February.

Where SARA can be spent in 2027

The Government has agreed to let SARA credit buy fresh and wet goods at about 216 FAMA Pasar Tani (farmers' markets) and tamu nationwide. The speech puts the current SARA merchant network at 15,000 premises, including 6,800 small grocery shops and cooperatives, with a target of 10,000 small grocers before the end of 2026.

The other cash measures in Budget 2027

  • Bantuan Awal Persekolahan: up from RM150 to RM200 per pupil for the 2027 school session, for about 5.3 million pupils (RM1 billion). A family with four schoolchildren gets RM800. It will be handed out at school, so parents meet the teacher.
  • Civil servants and pensioners: a Bantuan Khas Kewangan of RM1,500 for about 1.3 million civil servants in Grade Utama B and below, including contract staff, and RM750 for more than 1 million government pensioners and veterans. Both are paid in two instalments, before Aidilfitri and before Merdeka.
  • Taxi and school bus drivers: a one-off RM1,000 for about 38,500 taxi and hire-car drivers, and for about 15,000 registered school bus drivers. The speech says it will be paid the week after the Budget.
  • Disability and care: carer aid for bedridden OKU and chronic patients rises from RM500 to RM600 a month. The special-needs pupil allowance rises from RM150 to RM200 a month.
  • Pensions: the lowest civil service pension rises from RM1,000 to RM1,350 a month, for almost 59,000 pensioners.
  • Form Six: a RM2,500 living allowance for about 90,000 Form Six students.
  • Young people: BUDI Belia, a RM100 e-wallet credit for young people who complete set volunteer hours with selected NGOs.
  • PTPTN: repayments deferred in 2027 for borrowers earning up to RM2,500, and a RM50 minimum for those earning RM2,501 to RM3,000.

What you need to do now

If you receive STR, check that your income, marital status and children are up to date on the official STR portal (bantuantunai.hasil.gov.my) once the 2027 application and update window opens. The Ministry has not yet announced those dates or the 2027 payment phases. Spend your remaining 2026 SARA balance before 31 December 2026, when it expires.

All of these measures still depend on Parliament passing the Supply Bill during the current meeting.

Sources: Ministry of Finance, *Ucapan Belanjawan 2027* (speech text, 9 October 2026) and the Budget 2027 summary *touchpoint-budget-bm.pdf*, both on belanjawan.mof.gov.my; Budget 2026 summary (same site) for the 2026 rate table; sara.gov.my.

*Cover image: Ministry of Finance, Budget 2027 summary, STR and SARA 2027 rate table.*

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