Under the Malaysian government’s latest “Permai” economy and people’s assistance package, drivers of e-hailing vehicles, taxis, buses, rental cars as well as tourist guides are set to receive a one-off RM500 aid this year.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said an allocation of RM66 million has been set aside to support the 118,000 drivers and 14,000 tourist guides who were trying to make ends meet through the services above.
The special granting of aid was to ease the burden of the affected group under the recently enforced movement control order (MCO) due to the rising daily Covid-19 cases.
This is the second of such financial aid distribution to the individuals from the group above, albeit a much larger group and allotment.
For last year’s aid, recipients in the e-hailing category were thoroughly screened and filtered. Only drivers who have obtained all the necessary documents from JPJ and APAD with earnings of at least RM 1,200 in either November 2019, December 2019 or January 2020 are eligible.
Based on news reports, over 68,000 e-hailing drivers qualified and received their RM500 aid which was paid out in stages from June 2020. No announcement has been made yet if the criteria for e-hailing drivers is maintained.
The support for taxi drivers and operators has also increased under “Permai”, as the goverment has reduced the condition of transfer and disposal of taxis to private car usage. The ownership requirement has been reduced from seven to five years.
