SIBURAN: The addition of the Sumbangan Keperluan Asas Sarawak (SKAS) assistance is intended to help the people of this state alleviate the currently rising cost of living.

Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg said the primary objective of providing this assistance is to enable the people to purchase basic necessities, including groceries.

“We hope that with this increased value, we can slightly ease the burden on our community, which totals approximately 800,000 recipients across Sarawak,” he said.

He said this when met by reporters after the 2026 SKAS Walkabout session here on Friday.

The walkabout session was held in conjunction with the distribution of the second phase of SKAS 2026, where according to Datuk Patinggi Abang Zohari, the household category received RM424, while the senior citizen and single categories received RM234 and RM150 respectively.

Elaborating further, the Sarawak Premier emphasised that the government also provides other forms of assistance, including a special 25 per cent discount on electricity bills for domestic consumers, as well as a 50 per cent discount on premise rentals.

“The provision of these discounts will be funded by the government, where the government will bear those costs, including for electricity,” he added.

Also present were Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Professor Dr. Sim Kui Hian, Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn, Sarawak Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Deputy Minister for Transport Datuk Dr. Jerip Susil, Deputy Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Sarawak Datuk Martin Ben, and Member of Parliament for Puncak Borneo Datuk Willie Mongin. — UKASnews

Prepared By: Jonnie Kiew
Photos By: George S. Embie
Translator: Ryan Lim