KUALA LUMPUR: A Sabah Member of Parliament has raised concerns about the high cost of flight tickets from the state to Peninsular Malaysia.
Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said that this week, the price of an economy class one-way ticket reached RM1,700 — substantially higher than international flights.
"To Singapore and the Philippines, tickets cost only RM700; to Indonesia, it's RM600, yet to Sabah it's RM1,700. This is outrageous," he said during his debate on the Supply Bill 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Bung Moktar urged the Transport Minister to address this issue, stressing the burden it places on the people of Sabah, particularly those travelling to the Peninsula for business and other purposes.
Last month, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that the government would continue two subsidy initiatives for domestic flight ticket purchases to help mitigate the rising cost of living.
These initiatives include ongoing subsidies for students of higher education institutions travelling on domestic routes (FLYsiswa) and a price cap policy for flights during festive seasons.
In December of last year, the cabinet approved a proposal to subsidise the purchase of one-way economy class flight tickets exceeding RM599 from the Peninsular to Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan during the Christmas holidays.
This policy will also apply to other festive seasons, such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Kaamatan, and Gawai, for three days each.