Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin has demanded the Transport Ministry look into the high airfares between Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia.

He pointed out the expensive flights made it difficult for many Sabahans and Sarawakians wishing to fly home to exercise their right to vote in the parliamentary polls on Nov 19.

“The Transport Ministry needs to intervene and ask the airlines to lower their fares, especially between Sabah, Sarawak, and the Peninsula, and vice versa, so that Malaysians can fly home to vote in,” he said.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah chief stressed that without the intervention of the ministry, many people from Sabah and Sarawak working in the peninsula would face difficulties returning home to vote, while those from the peninsula in both states would also face the same situation.

He opined that the situation is detrimental to the country, especially since the group that is expected to be most affected by the expensive fares are young first-time voters who now qualify under Undi18, many of whom are students.

“A check on the return trip fares, especially between Sabah and the Peninsula, showed that it is more expensive two to three days before the voting day, which falls on November 19. Not only that, the airfare for flights at the end of this month and after November 19 is also high, up to RM800.

“The is expensive, especially for students, and it has definitely weakened their spirit to return to fulfill their responsibilities as voters on November 19,” lamented Bung Moktar, who is also Umno Sabah liaison chief.

He told reporters this after a meeting with BN Sabah representatives as well as Umno Sabah Youth, Women’s, and Puteri movements last night.

The high airfare issue has been raised by the Sabah Islamic Student Center (Marsis) and the Sabah Association of Islamic Students (Gamis).

The organisations said despite being given leave from Nov 17-21 to enable them to go home to vote, Sabahan students in the peninsula may not be able to take advantage of the opportunity due to the problem of expensive airfares.

Bung Moktar also reiterated his previous recommendation to the Election Commission (EC) to include students as among early voter or postal voter groups to ensure that they do not miss out on fulfilling their democratic responsibilities.

He said being included in either category of voters could solve the problem of students not being able to buy expensive flight tickets to go home to vote, especially students from Sabah or Sarawak in the peninsula and vice versa.

“The EC needs to find a way to make it easier for students or young voters to fulfill their responsibilities as voters and one of the best methods is to include them as early voters or postal voters,” he said.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by NANCY LAI

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