KUCHING, March 7 2026: After the first payments of the Sarawak Basic Needs Contribution (SKAS) to be credited to eligible Sarawakians starting from March 10, just before Hari Raya celebration, the next payments will be credited before Gawai Dayak celebration, said Premier Abang Johari Openg today.
Caption: Premier Abang Johari Openg (centre) at the launch of SKAS 2026 at the Stutong Ramadan Bazar in Tabuan Jaya - Picture by Ukas
“The third phase will be on November 10 to help children prepare for school,” he said at the launch of the SKAS 2026 at the Stutong Ramadan Bazar in Tabuan Jaya today.
He said the state government has allocated RM640 million to help the people.
The premier said the state government will continue to strengthen its commitment to helping the people and boosting the state's economy with the launch of SKAS.
He added the initiative not only aims to help the people obtain basic goods, but also acts as a direct injection into the state's economy through increased domestic demand.
According to him, increased spending among the people will stimulate business activities, thus benefiting the entire local economic ecosystem.
“When domestic demand increases, businesses will continue to rotate and benefit the people and our economic system.
“This means that we are injecting RM640 million into the state economy to help the people so that they can spend and thus further stimulate economic movement,” he said.
In the same speech, he informed that the SKAS which was introduced since last year is a direct intervention by the Sarawak government to help the people face the increase in the cost of living following the increase in the price of goods.
According to him, in the first year of the implementation of the programme, the Sarawak government spent RM480.2 million with more than 888,000 eligible recipients.
Following the positive impact shown, its implementation has been strengthened this year with an allocation of RM539.8 million, involving RM179.6 million for the first stage distribution, RM179.6 million for the second stage and RM180.6 million for the third stage.
In addition, the value of the assistance also increased to RM950 per year for the household category, RM500 per year for senior citizens without a partner and RM300 per year for the single category.
SKAS recipients include households with an income of RM5,000 and below, single individuals with an income of RM2,500 and below, and senior citizens without a spouse or child with an income of RM5,000 and below.
The distribution of assistance will continue through S Pay Global for the purchase of basic food items at 2,249 participating supermarkets and shops throughout Sarawak.
The financial assistance can be used throughout this year and status checks can be made via the S Pay Global application or the link https://sarawak.gov.my
Present to witness the launch were Deputy Premier Dr Sim Kui Hian, Sarawak State Secretary Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Dr Hazland Abang Hipni, Sarawak Deputy Secretary to the State (Economic Planning and Development)i Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel, Sarawak Economic Planning Unit Director Awang Mohammad Fadillah Awang Redzuan and heads of departments.
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