PUTRAJAYA: The government has agreed to grant full-time e-hailing drivers additional eligibility for the Budi Madani RON95 (Budi95) petrol subsidy, starting this Oct 15, according to the Finance Ministry.
In a statement on Wednesday (Oct 1), the ministry announced that e-hailing drivers would not need to apply individually. Instead, the government would deal with the e-hailing operators (EHO) to process applications on a group basis.
Taking water transport into consideration, the Federal Government has also agreed to extend Budi95 eligibility to citizens who are registered boat owners, without requiring a valid driving licence.
"The Federal Government is currently working with relevant state government agencies, such as the Sarawak Rivers Board and the Sabah Ports and Harbours Department, to identify registered boat owners," the statement noted.
The ministry confirmed that the monthly RON95 subsidy limit of 300 litres for every eligible citizen has been renewed on Oct 1, and this benefit would be renewed on the first of every month.
"As of 6pm today, the total purchase of subsidised RON95 petrol through the Budi95 system has recorded transactions valued at approximately RM84.2mil.
"This involves more than 42.3 million litres of RON95 petrol. From that amount, the government has channeled a subsidy of RM27.8mil to alleviate the people's cost-of-living burden," the ministry stated.
Since the phased introduction of Budi95 began on September 27, the ministry reported that over three million users have benefited from the programme.
The total subsidised petrol transactions recorded amount to RM255.6mil, involving 128.4 million litres of petrol, with a total subsidy of RM67mil channelled by the government.
"The Madani government remains committed to ensuring this targeted subsidy programme runs smoothly, transparently, and benefits the people directly. The ministry, along with related agencies, will continue to monitor the implementation of Budi95 and implement improvements from time to time," the statement said.
Budi95 was implemented in phases starting Sept 27 with 300,000 members of the Malaysian Armed Forces and Royal Malaysia Police, before being expanded to over five million recipients of the Rahmah Cash Contribution (STR) in the B40 category on Sunday.
A total of 16 million Malaysians aged 16 and above, who possess a MyKad and an active driving licence, are eligible to enjoy the RON95 petrol subsidy at the price of RM1.99 per litre, with each individual entitled to up to 300 litres per month.- Bernama
