KUALA LUMPUR: The final payment of Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) for this year will be disbursed in stages from Nov 7 before the Deepavali festival.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said RM2.1 billion will be allocated to benefit 5.5 million recipients, who will receive cash assistance of up to RM1,200.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister said over 28,000 new beneficiaries have been approved for the STR 2023 appeal.
They will receive up to RM2,500 based on their eligibility category.
"This year, the government has allocated nearly RM8 billion for STR 2023 to assist 8.7 million recipients, which accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the adult population in Malaysia, in addressing the challenges of the cost of living.
"For 2023, the STR application process is only conducted once a year. As an improvement on STR 2024, the government will adopt a different approach to ensure that no eligible individuals are left out.
"Starting on Nov 1, eligible individuals can make new applications and update their information for STR 2024 throughout the year," he said.
He said to ensure that those who are eligible but are not in the government's database can come forward to submit their applications and allow existing recipients to update their information in case of changes.
"To reduce the exclusion of eligible individuals or exclusion errors, the data of existing STR recipients will be automatically incorporated into the government's database.
"This data will be cross-checked with information from several government agencies to ensure eligibility for the STR 2024 according to the specified criteria," he added.
STR applicants can refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the STR's official portal via the link https://bantuantunai.hasil.gov.my for further information.
Checking the payment status and approval of STR appeals can also be done through the same link.