KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced an immediate, additional RM10 million allocation to expand the country’s Vehicle Replacement Matching Grant Programme. The financial intervention effectively doubles the government’s active funding commitment to the taxi industry to a total of RM20 million.
Anwar, who concurrently serves as the Finance Minister, unveiled the immediate financial injection at Dataran Merdeka during the official launch of the National Madani Taxi Renewal Programme. The administrative decision follows intense demand for transit modernization assets, with the original RM10 million fiscal allocation announced under Budget 2026 reaching full utilization within its first three months of implementation.
Deploying the Proton S70 Fleet Architecture
The overarching renewal scheme aims to replace outdated, high-maintenance commercial vehicles with a uniform, high-performance fleet centered on the Proton S70. To facilitate seamless transition mechanics for independent operators, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) has consolidated a trilateral partnership with national automaker Proton to offer targeted commercial financing options tailored to low-income drivers.
The vehicle migration pipeline introduces a heavily optimized overhead and support structure for participants,
- Direct Capital Subsidies – The matching grant framework provides up to RM4,000 in unified trade-in support, structured as a combination of a government subsidy and a manufacturer discount from Proton.
- Tax and Operating Relief – Newly deployed vehicles are granted absolute exemptions from federal excise and sales taxes, receive priority queuing windows for mandatory Puspakom safety inspections, and will utilize localized “GET” series registration plates.
- Modernized Design Blueprint – The fleet features a red visual profile that removes bulky traditional overhead “taxi toppers” and structural exterior liveries, utilizing modern digital tracking meters instead.
The structural reduction in vehicle acquisition, maintenance, and administrative tracking expenses is mathematically modeled to push net monthly earnings for participants up to between RM5,000 and RM7,000.
Dismantling Legacy Monopolies
A primary policy shift under the Madani transition framework involves a complete rewrite of commercial permit architectures. Anwar stated that the government has formalized a strict directive ensuring all future taxi permits are issued directly to individual operators rather than distributed through large, third-party leasing conglomerates.
“For many decades, a persistent question raised in Parliament was why lucrative transit permits were systematically granted to wealthy corporate entities while drivers themselves struggled under predatory leasing contracts,” Anwar noted during his address. “The state has shifted this policy permanently; permits must go directly to the individuals operating the vehicles so that they retain complete equity and ownership.”
Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who formally requested the matching fund expansion following an influx of field applications, highlighted that the program transitions the workforce toward sustainable outright ownership.
The high-profile flagging-off ceremony concluded with a senior ministerial presentation. Joining the Prime Minister at the launch table were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
