SUMBANGAN Asas Rahmah (SARA) assistance is influencing where Malaysians shop, with 59% of respondents in a recent survey saying they could not use their benefits at their preferred retail channel over the past year.
The findings came from a survey of 1,000 respondents in Peninsular Malaysia commissioned by the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) and conducted by Ipsos.
The Social & Economic Research Initiative (SERI) subsequently analysed the findings and produced policy recommendations.
The survey found that 72% of respondents changed their usual shopping store because SARA was not accepted there, while 44% said they travelled further to access a store where the assistance could be used.
Proximity remained a major factor in everyday shopping. Among respondents who patronised different retail formats, being close to home was cited as a reason by 77% of sundry shop customers, 74% of minimart customers, 66% of convenience store customers and 51% of supermarket customers.
The findings suggest that while SARA has expanded access to essential goods, the location and type of participating outlets can influence how recipients use the assistance.
Fresh food among most sought-after items
The survey also identified a gap between the products Malaysians commonly buy and those eligible under SARA.
Some 69% of respondents said they bought fresh vegetables and fruit, while 68% bought fresh meat, poultry, seafood or eggs.
Under the current SARA framework, eggs are an approved category, while fresh vegetables, fruits and fresh meat, poultry and seafood are not. Frozen food was added to the programme in February 2026, including frozen meat, poultry, fish, seafood and vegetables.
The survey found fresh produce and fresh meat, poultry and seafood were among the items respondents most wanted included.
Respondents also reported using retail formats outside the current SARA network for their daily needs, including convenience stores (56%), minimarts (55%), pharmacies (46%) and wet markets (45%).
The survey found that 77% of respondents believed SARA would be more useful if it could be used at convenience stores.
Among those who could not use SARA at their preferred outlet, the most commonly cited reason was that the outlet did not accept SARA (35%), followed by the item being ineligible (29%).
Support for expanding the retail network was high, with 97% backing the inclusion of convenience stores and 92% supporting pharmacies.
MRCA said the findings showed that convenience and proximity remained important to recipients and called for a wider range of participating retailers.
“The rakyat should be able to utilise their SARA benefit at any place at their convenience, be it convenience stores, pharmacies, mini markets or supermarkets,” MRCA president Datuk Liew Bin said.
Merchant network expanding
The government has been expanding SARA’s merchant network, particularly among smaller grocery shops.
In February, the government announced a target of 10,000 small grocery shops participating in SARA by the end of 2026, while reducing the intended coverage distance from 10km to 7km.
By June, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said more than 13,500 shops nationwide had registered as SARA merchants, including more than 6,500 small shops.
The official SARA portal currently says assistance can be used at more than 13,000 selected stores and supermarkets nationwide, covering more than 140,000 basic items across 15 approved categories.
The survey’s findings point to two areas for further consideration: expanding the list of eligible fresh foods and widening the types of retail outlets participating in SARA.
MRCA said doing so could give recipients greater flexibility while ensuring the assistance better reflects their actual shopping patterns.
The association also said greater retail access could help ensure SARA serves its intended purpose by making essential purchases more convenient for recipients. ‒ Focus Malaysia
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