Transport Ministry to use remaining budget funds to subsidise festive flight tickets

Anthony Loke. Photo credit: Anthony Loke's Facebook page

KUCHING, Dec 17: Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced today that any remaining funds from his ministry’s budget will be used to subsidise purchases of one-way economy class flight tickets exceeding RM599 during the festive season.

Loke however said that it is only through buying tickets directly from the relevant airline service providers that one can ascertain the actual cost of subsidies, MalayMail reported.

“They can’t charge us if there is no demand and we will do the calculations, so they cannot deceive us.

“As I have stressed before, this initiative has the Cabinet’s support, even though we do not have a specific allocation from the Budget 2024.

“However, we are adopting a creative approach, redirecting any savings or surplus allocations from our ministry to support this initiative,” Loke told reporters after officiating at the Federal Territories (FT) KL Democratic Action Party (DAP) 2023 annual convention today at the party’s national headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, as cited by the news outlet.

According to the news report, the Transport Minister also sought to dispel misconceptions about the initiative, stating that airline companies are not permitted to set a fixed price for all tickets.

“We are not capping all tickets at RM599, travellers can still purchase tickets below RM599.

“But if the demand rises and the ticket price exceeds RM600, then we cap them,” he said.

Furthermore, Loke stated that the unused allocations have been allocated to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) for implementation as part of the initiative.

When asked about the duration of the initiative, Loke responded, “As long as the unity government remains in place.”

On Dec 15, it was reported that the federal government will be subsidising one-way economy class flight tickets to Sarawak, Sabah, and Labuan that exceed RM599 for travel from Peninsula Malaysia from Dec 22 to 24.

Loke noted that the implementation of the subsidy for Christmas flights this year will commence at 12.01am on Dec 16.

He also pointed out that similar subsidies will continue in 2024 for major festivals, including Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Hari Gawai Dayak, Pesta Kaamatan, and Christmas. — DayakDaily