PUTRAJAYA (Oct 14): About 53,000 taxi, rental car and school bus drivers are expected to receive a one-off financial aid payment of RM1,000 each before Deepavali, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said.

He said the disbursement of the RM53 million in aid was expected to be completed within two to three weeks, with payments made in stages through direct handovers and online transfers.

“However, we will verify the data (on eligible drivers) with the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD)...we aim for all drivers to receive this aid before Deepavali,” he told reporters after the inaugural aid presentation ceremony here on Wednesday, involving 500 drivers from the Central Zone as symbolic recipients.

Loke said the drivers were not required to apply for the assistance, as eligibility would be determined based on databases maintained by the APAD, the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Boards of Sabah and Sarawak.

He said the sole eligibility requirement is a valid public service vehicle vocational licence. Drivers who did not receive the aid could contact their respective associations to update their details.

On the source of funding, Loke said the assistance was financed from part of the RM91 million in revenue generated through the bidding for the special ‘H’ vehicle registration number series, rather than from future budget allocations.

He said the revenue was collected in September, with part of it subsequently disbursed by the Finance Ministry to fund the initiative, although the aid was announced as part of Budget 2027.

I wish to correct the perception, or address the questions regarding why payments are being made when Budget 2027 has not yet been passed.

“All this revenue [intended for the aid] was already in the Consolidated Revenue Account. The Ministry of Finance disbursed a portion of it for this initiative, which was announced during the Budget presentation last Friday, and it does not require parliamentary approval,” he said.

During the Budget 2027 presentation in the Dewan Rakyat last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the assistance as one of the government’s initiatives to return revenue to the people.

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