PUTRAJAYA: Full-time p-hailing and e-hailing drivers will soon receive targeted fuel subsidies under the Budi Madani RON95 (Budi95) initiative based on their actual fuel usage, says Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
The Economy Minister said the government’s main goal is to ensure those in the e-hailing and p-hailing sectors will receive their determined eligibility under Budi95 by Oct 15.
“If they are full-time drivers and use more fuel, their eligibility will be increased,” he told reporters after launching the Household Income and Expenditure Survey Malaysia 2024 here yesterday.
Since the phased launch on Sept 27, more than three million users have benefited from Budi95, with total subsidised transactions amounting to RM255.6mil, involving 128.4 million litres of petrol and RM67mil in government subsidies.
Amir Hamzah said the government has already received preliminary data of e-hailing companies from the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) and is working on integrating this with fuel consumption records to determine monthly eligibility.
“God willing, before the middle of this month, the assistance or eligibility will be given to those qualified to work under the e-hailing companies,” he said.
Amir Hamzah said based on the fiscal reforms being implemented, “we can see a reduction in the fiscal deficit gap and (they) have shown positive developments”.
“... when we look at the fiscal reforms and if we can increase the national revenues, we can also increase the assistance given,” he added.
“So, what we are doing, fundamentally, is improving government revenue in a more targeted way,” said the minister.
“In terms of RON95, we’ve said that all eligible Malaysians, those aged 18 and above with a valid driving licence, will receive the subsidy.
“But wealthier individuals will no longer benefit, and that’s where the savings come in.
“We are then redirecting those savings to build hospitals and schools, and to enhance cost-of-living assistance with the resources we have,” said Amir Hamzah.
Asked to reveal the exact additional subsidy for p-hailing and e-hailing, the minister said he has not seen the full report submitted by Apad to the Finance Ministry.
“The team will carry out a detailed analysis. But we can calculate, from Apad’s data, for instance, that if a driver drives 5,000km, you can calculate the extra eligibility that is needed.
“What matters is that there must be actual evidence of the usage. We don’t want people to be given higher eligibility yet they do not actually use it, and later, other issues arise because of that,” he said.
