She said vice-president Amirudin Shari, who is Selangor menteri besar, had joined her in pledging to donate the RM100 they received through the SARA cost-of-living programme.

“I also invite fellow PKR representatives to join in and ‘Pass it forward’ with their RM100 or more, so that more underprivileged families can be helped,” she said in a Facebook post.

She said the RM100 may seem small to those with comfortable lives, but would be significant for others struggling with living costs. “It could fill the stomachs of children and loved ones,” she said.

Nurul Izzah urged her followers to tag three friends to help create a chain of giving.

Machang Bubuk state assemblyman Lee Khai Loon started the chain by tagging Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow, Batu Uban state assemblyman A Kumaresan and Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin.

In turn, Sim challenged investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, former minister Khairy Jamaluddin and deputy energy transition and water transformation minister Akmal Nasir to join the campaign.

The RM100 cash aid in the SARA programme was credited to the MyKad of all Malaysians aged 18 and above, which can be redeemed at 7,300 registered shops from today until Dec 31.

Earlier today, Mydin Hypermarket managing director Ameer Ali Mydin advised those who do not need immediate assistance to allow lower-income groups to purchase their groceries first. “There is no hurry to spend the RM100. They have until Dec 31 to use the money,” he said.

Glitches in the redemption system were reported today, the first day on which the aid was disbursed. The finance ministry and MyKasih apologised for a system glitch which caused processing delays because of an extremely high volume of transactions.