Sandakan school bus drivers yet to receive RM600 aid, says MP

SANDAKAN – School bus drivers here have yet to receive the RM600 one-off cash assistance promised by the federal government in July last year.  

The assistance was announced last year under the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) stimulus package.  

Sandakan MP Vivian Wong Shir Yee has urged the government to disburse the assistance immediately.  

“What is the point of our prime minister promising another RM500 payment to school bus drivers under the recently announced Permai Assistance Package when what was promised more than six months ago by the government is still yet to be delivered?” asked Wong. 

Wong said that she had brought up the issue with the transport minister during the Parliament session last December.  

“In his reply, Deputy Transport Minister Hasbi Habibollah informed Parliament that the ministry, through the Sabah Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), was in the process of disbursing the payments, of which payment to 41 school bus drivers had already been made.  

“However, in a bizarre twist a day later, CVLB Sabah chairman came out to dispute what the deputy minister said in Parliament and claimed that none of the school bus drivers in Sandakan had received the payment.  

“So my question is: it has been another long month since I brought this up in Parliament, so what have the transport minister and Sabah and Sarawak Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board chairman done to resolve this delay?” the DAP representative asked.  

Wong said she has written a letter to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong requesting his urgent attention on the matter.  

“With schools being forced to close for extended periods due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, all school bus drivers are severely affected as their operations have also been halted.

“The government must not delay any assistance scheme promised to them any further,” she said.  

The Vibes contacted CVLB chairman Datuk Chin Kim Hiung, who said that the assistance is still in the process of being distributed, while Wee has yet to respond on the matter. – The Vibes, January 22, 2021