PUTRAJAYA: Some 53,000 taxi, hire car and school bus drivers will begin receiving RM1,000 in special assistance from Wednesday (14 Oct), with the government fast-tracking payments ahead of Deepavali.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the assistance, announced under Budget 2027, would benefit approximately 38,000 taxi and hire car drivers and another 15,000 school bus drivers nationwide.
He said the first batch of recipients would be invited to the Ministry on Wednesday to receive their aid vouchers, with subsequent payments to be distributed in phases.
“The Prime Minister announced that the special assistance would be paid as early as this week.
“Following his directive, we will begin distributing the aid in stages,” he told a press conference at the Transport Ministry today.
Loke clarified that the government could proceed with the payments despite Budget 2027 not yet being approved by Parliament, as the funds had already been generated through the sale of special vehicle registration numbers under the H series.
He said the series had generated RM91 million in revenue, part of which would now be channelled back to the affected drivers.
“We are committed to distributing this assistance as soon as possible so that Hindu drivers can receive it before Deepavali,” he said.
