All registered taxi drivers, rental cars, school buses are eligible for RM1,000 assistance

PUTRAJAYA, 14 Oct: More than 53,000 taxi drivers, rental cars and school buses eligible to receive special financial assistance of RM1,000 at a one-time payment need not apply or register.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that the eligibility of recipients will be identified through existing databases to ensure aid is easily disseminated without burdening those involved with bureaucratic processes.

According to him, the recipients consisted of about 38,000 taxi drivers and rental cars as well as 15,000 school bus drivers across the country.

"As long as they're licensed drivers and have a renewed PSV license, they will receive this assistance. There is no application process", he said.

He said this at a press conference after the launch of special financial assistance by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Ministry of Transport (MOT) today.

The Deputy Minister of Transport, Datuk Hasbi Habibollah is hereby.

As for today's ceremony, Anthony announced that as many as 500 drivers were invited to receive symbolic assistance, while the other recipients will be paid in stages through direct money transfers to their respective accounts.

According to him, verification of the information of recipients will be carried out with the Department of Road Transport (JPJ), the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) and the Board of Licensing for Commercial Vehicles (LPKP) Sabah and Sarawak.

"The payment process is targeted to be completed within two to three weeks, with the government making efforts to ensure that all recipients receive assistance before Deepavali celebrations.

However, recipients whose account information is not complete will need to update the details in order to launch the payment process", he said.

Commenting on the sources of funding, he said the aid used a portion of sales proceeds from H-series special registration number sales which generated about RM91 million, with the government allocating RM53 million to finance the aid to all targeted recipients.

He said the results had been quoted and put into government accounts since last September, so payments could be made without waiting for the approval of Budget 2027 in Parliament.

"This aid is a one-time initiative and not an annual grant, whereas any such assistance in the future depends on the availability of additional revenue as well as approval by the Ministry of Finance", he said. -TVS.