THERE were inaccuracies in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s address yesterday, said Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, who went on to clarify the matter in the Dewan Rakyat after opposition MPs raised the spectre of erroneous figures in Muhyiddin’s speech.
“I believe a correction will be issued by the PM’s office,” he told the Dewan Rakyat this morning in response to questions by Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Saifuddin Ismail Nasution.
In his speech yesterday, Muhyiddin highlighted some of the aid delivered via the government’s economic stimulus packages, including allowances for drivers of various forms of public transport.
“To date, RM11.14 bil has been channelled to 10.4 million Bantuan Prihatin Nasional recipients while 1.4 million e-hailing drivers have received RM500 cash allowances for a total of RM34 mil.
“As many as 477,000 taxi drivers, tour bus drivers, and bus drivers have received RM600 cash allowances for a total of RM28.8 mil,” Muhyiddin said earlier.
But opposition politicians such as Seremban MP Anthony Loke called out the prime minister, pointing out the mismatch.
Zafrul went on to clarify some of the figures. He told the Dewan Rakyat today that RM110 mil had been set aside for cash initiatives for taxi and bus drivers as well as tour guides.
He added that RM34 mil had been allocated for 68,300 e-hailing drivers who would receive a one-off RM500 each while RM22.7 mil had been allocated for 37,100 taxi and bus drivers as well as tour guides who would receive a one-off RM600 each.
There are 4,800 taxi drivers still waiting for the one-off aid as they recently renewed their licence, Zafrul said.
He added that RM1.9 mil had been set aside for 3,100 tour bus drivers. They’ll receive this on July 22. And, 30,000 school bus drivers will receive aid on Aug 14. – July 21, 2020
