The disbursement of Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) aid, coinciding with the Merdeka Day long weekend, saw large crowds flocking to hypermarkets and supermarkets to redeem their aid allocations. However, system slowdowns and technical glitches during peak hours caused delays, causing some shoppers to wait over two hours in line.
Image credit: Sin Chew Daily
SARA aid system overload forces long queues
According to Sin Chew Daily, at the MYDIN outlet in Putrajaya, management said they had reduced the number of machines verifying SARA eligibility and balances from 20 to 15 in line with government directives.
MYDIN’s operations general manager explained that reducing the number of machines helped ease system overloads but also prolonged waiting times for customers. During peak hours, the system slowed significantly, with some transactions freezing at the payment interface, leading to long queues and frustration among shoppers.
Image credit: Sin Chew Daily
Cashiers explained that when such issues occurred, customers had to rescan items with a newly generated QR code, prolonging the transaction process by several minutes.
Most supermarkets experienced system failures
Meanwhile, at a chain supermarket in Shah Alam Section 22, notices were posted alerting customers of ongoing “system malfunctions” with the SARA verification system.
Image credit: Sin Chew Daily
A staff member at the other store confirmed the system only returned to normal around 6pm yesterday. While no major disruptions were reported today, the system was only stable from around 10am.
99 Speedmart also faced similar issues. When customers asked staff whether the system had recovered, the response given was: “Still under maintenance.”
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