The cost of flight ticket from West Malaysia to Sarawak/Sabah has increased significantly since the implementation of MCO and this trend has continued even until now even when the government has already allowed inter-state travel.
This is an issue that I will raise in Parliament especially on the Government plans on how to regulate and control such prices that has been a huge burden to East Malaysians, even those who want to travel back either for work or even a trip to be with family.
Recent check on all the airlines online site, what used to cost between RM300 and RM500 for a two-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching now can be up to RM3,000 or more. That’s more than 1,000 percent increase.
We have received multiple complaints from public intending to travel home, doctors and other frontliners who just intend to travel back home for a short rest after their busy posting in one of their hospitals in the peninsular over the peak of Covid-19 period, but are unable too due to the excessive price of tickets.
Not only that, but the frequency of flights is still so limited, which may be the main reason causing the prices to go up exorbitantly. This is even after the assurance by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) that flight frequency will be increased starting 1st October 2021.
This is something that should be properly addressed in view of the State Government’s desire to promote more local tourism, the demand for travelling, high ticket prices, quarantine exemption for fully vaccinated people travelling within Malaysia and also the reopening of schools and universities recently.
High ticket cost also affects a lot of things, including the cost of doing business for some SMEs. Some companies require frequent travel between the regions for business. This will increase the cost of business and will not only burden the companies, but this cost may be passed on to the consumers as well.
On top of that, with rumours of an impending Sarawak State Elections, all efforts must be made to allow eligible Sarawakians to travel back to vote safely without being burdened by heavy cost of logistical obstacles to protect their democratic right to vote.
That is why I urge both the Ministry of Transport and SDMC to properly engage and have a more comprehensive discussion with all airlines and aviation authorities such as Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM), Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) and other relevant stakeholders to come up with a better arrangement and flight schedules to holistically address this problem.
Even so, I strongly encourage all those that are flying to strictly comply with all necessary Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set by the National Security Council, Health Ministry for their own safety and safety of their loved ones. While it is not required but I also encourage travellers to do frequent self-test before they fly and before they meet their loved ones especially those in the high risk categories just for extra precautions.