SERDANG: Some 67,000 taxi drivers from throughout the country will be getting the ‘Kad Bantuan Teksi 1Malaysia’ (1Malaysia Taxi Assistance Card) which carries a value of RM800 to buy petrol or natural gas for vehicles (NGV) at Petronas stations.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at an event to hand over the ‘Kad Bantuan Teksi 1Malaysia’ (1Malaysia Taxi Assistance Card) at the Malaysia Agriculture Exposition Park Serdang here yesterday, said with the card, taxi drivers were also eligible to get other facilities under the Mesra Petronas loyalty programme including personal accident insurance protection up to RM50,000.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said the card will be distributed by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) with the cooperation of the Finance Ministry, and involves funding of RM53.6 million.
“I believe with this card, it will reduce the cost of daily operations and raise income,” he said.
The event saw a turnout of more than 10,000 taxi drivers from throughout the country. Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, SPAD acting chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah.
Najib said the RM800 stored value would be reviewed from time to time depending on the government’s affordability.
“The government will never forget taxi drivers who have always been close to the heart of the government,” he said.
Najib also announced that all taxi drivers in the country eligible to apply for the 1Malaysia People’s Aid would get automatic approval.
He said the move was being taken because of grievances from taxi drivers that some of them failed to receive BR1M because they were registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) as company owners.
He cited that in Langkawi, out of 982 taxi drivers who applied for BR1M, only 195 qualified while 425 were not eligible because they were registered with SSM.
“The government views this as unfair and the condition (if they were registered with SSM were ineligible) is not something that the government wanted actually. So, the government has decided that all taxi drivers eligible to apply for BR1M will get automatic approval. I am aware that taxi drivers work more than 12 hours. What is announced today is the provision of Kad Bantuan Teksi 1Malaysia and BR1M for the taxi driving community to bring relief to all,” he said.
According to Najib, the government had approved 11 initiatives under the Taxi Industry Transformation Programme (TITP) drafted by SPAD to bring about renewal for an industrial environment that is fair to the drivers, operators and users.
“Land public transport transformation has always been a priority of the government and the government has asked SPAD to find ways and make recommendations to help taxi drivers. As a first step to reduce their burden, the government has agreed to hand over individual licences to taxi drivers who will be exiting from the lease system,” he said.
Najib described problems and injustices faced by taxi drivers especially those under the lease system as a form of modern-day slavery.
Apart from this, he said the government had also announced an allocation of RM150 million in Budget 2017 for the Government Cash Grant (GCC) scheme whereby recipients of individual taxi licences who are eligible and had completed their lease contracts would get RM5,000 each.
“In Budget 2018, I also announced that registered taxi drivers who are qualified and intend to join e-hailing services would also receive GCC of RM5,000 to buy a new car,” he said.
Najib said since the implementation of individual taxi permits issuance to taxis drivers whose lease agreements ended, 2,533 taxi drivers had received their individual licences and 643 government cash grants worth RM3.215 million had been channeled to eligible recipients.
As the majority of drivers were not covered by insurance, Najib said, the government also provided a special government grant of RM60 million to initiate the implementation of a Social Security Organisation (Socso) scheme to provide protection to taxi drivers as announced in the 2017 Budget.
“Under this scheme, taxi drivers need to make a minimum contribution of RM157, at only RM13.08 a month. The scheme provides cash benefits to taxi drivers and their dependents in the event of unforeseen occurrences such as accidents by providing medical treatment, physical rehabilitation or vocational training,” he said.
Najib said because of the government’s concern for the people it launched inclusive programmes and incentives to assist taxi drivers nationwide and has always stuck to the principle that no Malaysian should be left behind in the country’s development.
In the meantime, he also reminded all taxi drivers to play an important role in highlighting Malaysia’s positive image to tourists as they were on the front line of the country’s tourism industry.
“Be a taxi driver who is always friendly, honest and gives good service, then you can all be considered as Malaysia’s ‘little ambassadors’,” he said. — Bernama