Sara Aid Opposition Mp Questions Vendor Selection Process

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PARLIAMENT | An opposition MP today raised questions on how the government selected retailers eligible to participate in its Rahmah Necessities Aid (Sara) distribution.
According to Ahmad Marzuk Shaary (PN-Pengkalan Chepa), there were many small traders, especially in villages that were left out of the initiative, and demanded that the Finance Ministry explain what it is doing to mitigate the issue.
"Considering that vendor participation for MyKasih (aid distribution platform) has increased to 8,400 as mentioned earlier, can the minister list who actually approved these vendor appointments?
"And was the selection done through open tender or selective tender? What mechanism does the government have to ensure there is no monopoly and that the selection and appointment of these vendors is fair?" he said during today's oral question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat.
In response to the questions, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying said the initiative is open to all retailers but subject to several conditions.
ADSAccording to Lim, retailers who wish to participate must be registered as a business either under the Companies Commission or a local government, ready to accept payments through MyKad, and they must have products listed under MyKasih in ready stock and labelled accordingly.
"They also must follow the Sara payment rules, where they must keep the receipts from every transaction done through MyKad for audit purposes.
"And the fifth requirement, the selection and agreement, has to take into account the location of their premises and the number of recipients in the area," she said.
Lim said any retailer who wishes to be part of Sara distribution can submit their application through the MyKasih website.
She also called on all MPs to collect the list of companies in their respective constituencies that want to participate and pass them to her so the MyKasih Foundation can conduct the necessary process.
The deputy minister stressed that Putrajaya is committed to helping retailers and small merchants get the economic spillover from its initiative, and pointed out that the number of shops that participate in Sara has been increased to 8,400 as of Oct 21, compared to only 700 last year. - FMT

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