KUALA LUMPUR: The one-off Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) aid of RM100 for individuals aged 18 and above is not a standalone solution, but part of the government's efforts to ease the rising cost of living, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said the aid, distributed on Aug 31, was in addition to the existing MySara and Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) programmes.

"When we talk about Sara, some criticise, asking what can RM100 do? But they forget that this one-off Sara is an addition to MySara and STR. How many people are we helping? Nine million.

"When I discussed this with friends abroad, especially Asean leaders, they asked: with a population of 34 million, we spent RM15 billion to assist nine million people.

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"Most of them said it was something they could not afford to do," he said in a speech shared on Facebook.

Anwar delivered the remarks during the closing ceremony of the Madani Rakyat Programme in Baling, Kedah, yesterday.

Yesterday, the Finance Ministry said that on the seventh day of the one-off SARA programme, sales had reached RM100 million, with 1.7 million recipients making purchases up to 10.30pm.

The RM100 credit remains valid until Dec 31 and can be used at over 7,300 registered retail outlets nationwide.