The finance ministry said the overwhelming response on the first day of disbursement had caused a sudden surge in transactions, resulting in bottlenecks in the payment terminal system operated through the MyKasih network.

Although the system was running more slowly, transactions were being received and processed. In a statement, the ministry said steps had been taken to boost system capacity to ensure that people can continue making purchases smoothly and without disruption from tomorrow.

The ministry said the number of transactions today was far higher than usual, as the monthly SARA disbursements amounted to an average of 600,000 daily transactions.

It said the RM100 one-off aid would be valid until Dec 31 and can be used at more than 7,300 retail outlets. The RM100 aid is credited into the MyKad e-wallet of over 22 million Malaysians aged 18 and above.