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E-HAILING drivers who do not record a minimum monthly travel of 2,000 kilometres (km) will automatically not be eligible to receive additional quota through the BUDI MADANI RON95 (BUDI95) programme for the following month.
Finance Minister II, Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, said this means that the distance travelled by e-hailing services recorded in the e-hailing operator company (EHO) system for the previous month will determine the eligibility ceiling.
He said that for the first category, e-hailing travel distances not exceeding 2,000km in the previous month will continue to receive the basic entitlement of 300 litres per month.
“Second, e-hailing travel distances between 2,000km and 5,000km in the previous month are eligible to receive an additional BUDI95 of 300 litres, bringing the eligibility of this group to 600 litres, including the basic eligibility.
Third, e-hailing travel distances of 5,000km and above in the previous month are eligible to receive an additional 500 litres, bringing the eligibility of this group to 800 litres,” he said in response to a question from Senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran during an oral question and answer session at the Dewan Negara today.
He also reminded that enforcement action could be taken against drivers or EHOs who are found to have submitted false, dubious or inconsistent information with records in the system.
“This approach based on actual trip data directly closes the loophole for inactive drivers, minimal part-time drivers or misused accounts, while also ensuring that subsidies are only channeled to drivers who truly rely on e-hailing as their main source of income.
“The government will continue to monitor the implementation of e-hailing service usage patterns from time to time and improvements will be made if necessary to ensure that the BUDI95 mechanism remains effective, targeted and sustainable in the long term,” he said.
As of December, Amir Hamzah said that of the total 164,000 e-hailing drivers accepted by EHOs, more than 106,000 or 65 percent are eligible to enjoy the BUDI95 ceiling of at least 600 liters to 800 liters.
“In this case, the monthly travel distance of each e-hailing driver will be determined based on the consolidation of travel data from all EHOs and the verification of the data will be handled by the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) and the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (LPKP) in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Only drivers with a valid passenger service vehicle (PSV) driving license and e-hailing permit will be considered.
"To prevent subsidy leakage to inactive and illegal drivers, EHOs are required to declare accurate, complete and valid monthly travel records at the beginning of each month to APAD and LPKP," he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last month announced that the government had agreed to increase the RON95 petrol subsidy eligibility under the BUDI95 programme to 800 litres per month for active e-hailing drivers, an improvement from the 600 litres per month eligibility previously granted.
Responding to Lingeshwaran's additional question on the introduction of cash rebates as an incentive for the people to switch to electric vehicles (EV), Amir Hamzah said, for now, the government does not plan to replace fuel subsidies under BUDI95 with cash rebates as an incentive for the transition to EVs or hybrids.
"Considering that the move would change the original purpose of BUDI95 and potentially affect the effectiveness of targeting subsidies to groups that still rely on combustion engine vehicles," he said.
He said BUDI95 is not intended to encourage the transition, since the effectiveness of its implementation is also assessed based on its ability to reduce leakage, protect the target group, while maintaining the stability of implementation in terms of the user experience of benefiting from the BUDI95 subsidy.
"Regarding the transition to EV and hybrid vehicles, it is addressed through separate frameworks and initiatives including the development of charging infrastructure and the national automotive industry policy," he said. – December 18, 2025
