E-hailing drivers in Penang will receive a one-off RM600 incentive next year, while newly married couples will get RM500, under the state Budget 2027 tabled on 30 October.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the payment for drivers recognises the welfare of people working in public transport. The scheme carries an allocation ceiling of RM9 million and covers eligible drivers in 2027, as Malay Mail reported from the state legislative assembly sitting.
Taxi drivers and school bus operators keep their own support, with RM1.2 million allocated for 2027 to continue incentive assistance for both groups.
The marriage payout comes through Mempelai Emas, a new programme folded into the i-Sejahtera welfare scheme. Couples who clear the eligibility rules receive a single RM500 contribution, Chow said when tabling the Supply Bill.
i-Sejahtera carries RM58 million in 2027, the same commitment as this year, and Mempelai Emas sits inside that envelope. As at 30 September, the state had paid out RM57.8 million across the programme’s first two phases, reaching 299,504 recipients, mostly senior citizens, persons with disabilities, single mothers and housewives.
The scheme has run since 2009. A separate RM8 million covers welfare assistance channelled through the Social Welfare Department, including the Equitable Economic Agenda Assistance, The Star noted. The per capita income threshold for that aid rose from RM348 to RM368 in April, and 8,960 recipients had received RM5.22 million by 30 September.
Housing also features in the spending plan. Chow said the state is studying shifts in household structure, with growing demand from single people and senior citizens living alone. The Penang State Housing Board will explore a co-living concept for suitable state rental housing and People’s Housing Programme units in 2027.
Some 176,457 Rumah MutiaraKu units have been delivered, or 80.21 per cent of the state’s 220,000 target by 2030. Another 22 projects under the board’s 2021 to 2030 master plan are expected to add 18,342 affordable units.
Penang will set up a State Social Development Fund for the first time, starting with RM350,000. The fund is meant to support welfare work, ease poverty and social inequality, and assist groups at risk of being left out of the state’s development.
On revenue, the 50 per cent land tax rebate stays in 2027, subject to conditions. Land tax collection reached RM167.59 million as at 29 October, RM51.54 million or 44.41 per cent higher than the RM116.05 million recorded in 2025, even after rebates and reductions granted on appeal cut nearly RM35.7 million from the take.
The state will also allocate at least RM5 million next year for programmes and infrastructure involving non-Muslim houses of worship, and RM2.1 million for the Penang Women’s Development Corporation to support age-friendly city work on the island and in Seberang Perai.
