M'sia payment system down after 'overwhelming response' on 1st day of Anwar's RM100 (S$30) credit

Malaysians spent over RM50 million (S$15.2 million) on the first day of the Malaysian government's one-off RM100 (S$30.25) credit roll-out.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming response caused the payment system network to experience slowdowns, said the Malaysia Finance Ministry in an Aug. 31 statement.

Calling the response to the initiative "very encouraging", the ministry nevertheless said that the response had crashed the system.

Around 850,000 Malaysians used the payment system on Aug. 31, a sharp increase from the typical 600,000 per day, it said.

"The Ministry of Finance apologises for the inconvenience caused and will continue to monitor the implementation of the initiative, to ensure it runs smoothly," it said.

System maintenance would be carried out prepare the system for more transactions on Sep. 1, it added.

The ministry also reminded citizens that the one-off credit is valid until Dec. 31, 2025.

The credit

The credit was announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Jul. 23.

All Malaysians aged 18 and above are eligible for it.

In response to criticism on the size of the sum, Anwar defended the credit and said it is significant to those in need.

"Well, if you're earning RM20,000 or RM40,000 a month, RM100 might not mean much. But I know that when you go into the villages, it does mean something," he said.

Sales at supermarkets and other premises nationwide surged on the first day of the credit, Malay Mail reported.

Top image from Sara aid website