KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): The Ministry of Finance will discuss with various stakeholders regarding the proposal to expand the Bus and Taxi Hire Purchase Rehabilitation Scheme (BTHPRS)​​​​ to bus and taxi operators who fail to obtain the assistance scheme.

Deputy Finance Minister II Yamani Hafez Musa said as at Oct 31, only RM505 million out of the RM1 billion total funding under the scheme was used, consisting of 1,492 borrower’s accounts.

“This means that there is still the remaining allocation of RM495 million to be utilised by bus and taxi operators and so far, only eight credit companies are involved in the scheme.

“On Nov 17, the government agreed to further extend the rehabilitation scheme, which originally would end on Dec 31, 2021, until the entire financing guarantee limit is exhausted,” he said in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 30).

He was replying to a supplementary question from P Kasthuriraani (DAP-Batu Kawan) about the government’s assistance to help bus and taxi operators repay their loans.

Under the Malaysian Economic and Rakyat’s Protection Assistance Package (PERMAI), the government launched the BTHPRS with an allocation of RM1 billion.

Through the scheme, bus and taxi operators affected by the Covid-19 pandemic can get a loan moratorium of up to 12 months and lower repayments as well as a 50% guarantee of the RM1 billion total financing limit on restructured hire purchase credit facilities for eligible bus and taxi operators.

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