Permai: Drivers of taxis, buses, and e-hailing vehicles to receive special RM 500 aid

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin has announced a new assistance package known as Perlindungan Ekonomi Dan Rakyat Malaysia or Permai for short. The new assistant package includes several special aids for drivers of taxis, buses, e-hailing, and even tourist vehicle drivers.

“To alleviate the burden faced by taxi and bus drivers, the Government has agreed to provide a one-off financial assistance of RM500 to 14,000 tourist guides as well as 118,000 drivers of taxis, school buses, tour buses, rental cars and e-hailing vehicles, with an additional allocation of RM66 million.”

Other than that, Muhyiddin has also announced an exemption of duty excise and sales taxes when transferring of name, disposal of the vehicle, or converting a taxi vehicle for private use.

“In addition, the Government currently provides exemption from excise duty and sales tax for the purpose of transfer, disposal and for private use of taxis, provided the vehicle is owned for seven years. I am happy to announce that this condition has been reduced to five years, effective from 1 January to 31 December 2021.”

This is not the first time that the government has created a special aid specifically targeting taxi and bus drivers. Previously, under the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) assistance programme, e-hailing drivers received a similar RM 500 one-off payment while taxi and bus drivers received RM 600.