Another name change for govt cash aid programme

The government's cash aid programme has undergone yet another round of rebranding, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announcing today that Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR)  handouts will be distributed in stages from Jan 17 onwards. 

This is the fourth time that the programme has been renamed since Najib Razak's administration, when it was known as Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia or BR1M. 

It was rebranded as Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) after Pakatan Harapan (PH), led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, took over the federal administration in 2018, and Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) under the Perikatan Nasional government led by Muhyiddin Yassin. 

The administration of Ismail Sabri Yaakob, which took over from Muhyiddin in 2021, called the handouts Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM), in line with the Keluarga Malaysia tagline being promoted at the time. 

In his announcement today, Anwar, who leads a coalition government comprising PH, Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and several other parties, said a total of RM1.67 billion would be disbursed under the STR programme.

Of this, RM1.20 billion will go to some 400 households in payments of RM300 while the rest will be divided between RM100 handouts for 1.2 million single senior citizens and RM100 handouts for 3.5 million single individuals.