Sara Initiative Stronger Execution Needed To Rebuild Public Trust Amid Checkout Failures Long Delays

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A THINK TANK has applauded Putrajaya’s continued commitment to relieve cost-of-living pressures through the RM100 Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) one-off aid but stressed that the government’s good intentions must be matched by resilient execution.
The Social & Economic Research Initiative (SERI) was referring to the slew of glitches in the MyKasih system when the aid rolled out on Aug 31 which saw many Malaysians encountering checkout failures and long delays as payment terminals struggled under load.
It said that despite the Ministry of Finance and MyKasih Foundation issuing public apologies, these problems undermined beneficiaries’ experience and eroded confidence not only in SARA but also in future digital public-service rollouts.
“Relief must feel reliable. When essential-goods aid fails at the checkout, good feelings turn sour – and trust suffers,” said SERI managing director Rashaad Ali said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 2).
“Malaysia is moving toward a more digital, targeted safety net. That transition will only succeed if citizens can trust that systems are ready on Day One.”
SERI further noted several strengths worth preserving, namely the initiative’s simple redemption via MyKad, wider item categories that match real household needs and broadening merchant networks.
“The strong transaction volume—RM110 mil within two days—shows how responsive households are when systems work,” Rashaad said.
“At the same time, confusing public messaging around ‘SARA for all’ versus targeted monthly SARA and the proliferation of fake links have increased user anxiety and workload for front-line staff.
“Clearer communication and scam-proofing are essential to protect the public and programme credibility.”
To prevent recurrence, SERI recommends:
Staggered go-live andload-testing: Simulate first-day peaks; roll out by state or ID number to avoid terminal overload; publish readiness and capacity tests pre-launch;Real-time status andService Level Agreements: Maintain a public dashboard for system uptime, incident tickets, and recovery times; set Service Level Objectives with enforcement for providers;Merchant network readiness: Prioritise onboarding of small/community retailers especially inrural Sabah and Sarawak with mobile POS kits, ‘test-swipe’ days and micro-grants for equipment;Clear product branding andFAQs: Distinguish one-off RM100 ‘SARA Appreciation’ from monthly targeted SARA across all channels; consolidate FAQs (eligibility, item categories, expiry, balance checks) in Bahasa Malaysia and major languages with consistent visuals;Fall–backs for outages: Provide offline/backup redemption, e.g., secure e-vouchers or claim-later reimbursement for verified failures so households are not stranded at tills;Anti-scam measures: Pre-announce official sender domains, verify social posts, and coordinate with telcos/platforms for rapid takedown of fake links; keep a single official portal as the source of truth; andIndependent post-mortems: After each major release, publish a lessons-learned report (what failed, why, timelines, fixes) to rebuild trust and improve subsequent phases“Digital social protection is the right direction. But to make it durable, we must engineer trust by design: robust systems, transparent comms, strong merchant networks, and visible accountability,” added SERI chairman Dr Helmy Haja Mydin. ‒  Focus Malaysia

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