Letter to editor
WANITA MCA Sabah notes the announcement by Transport Minister Anthony Loke regarding additional flight frequencies to Sabah and Sarawak for Hari Raya Aidilfitri using wide body or larger aircrafts to accommodate demand.
Although Loke did also mention that airfares are expected to decrease with the additional flights, the unity government should have already prepared contingency plans and options before passenger dissatisfaction was voiced.
How long more do Malaysians have to encounter the same scenario year in, year out whereby flight tickets between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak rise sharply each time before major celebrations such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri?
The government should anticipate that airfare tickets will soar during festive seasons and thus take the appropriate measures before airline companies hike up their prices.
Pro-active and quick reaction to such expected market speculation will discourage public perception of the government as a square block which only implements knee jerk reflex responses after passenger grievances.
Why did the government wait for people to complain before making the announcement of additional flights during Aidilfitri? The Transport Ministry (MOT) should be aware by now that this is an annual occurrence.
Besides Aidilfitri, East Malaysians in the Peninsular relive the same predicament annually for Pesta Kaamatan in Sabah, Hari Gawai in Sarawak and Christmas.
The expensive airfares pose a huge burden to our fellow Malaysians who have to cross the South China Sea to be able to have a reunion with their families as ticket prices can leap anywhere between 156% to 1,374% from non-festive periods.
Although Malaysia practises an open market system whereby prices are determined by supply-and-demand mechanism, no other options are available for airline passengers because air travel is their only suitable mode of transportation.
We do not believe there is any justification for the costs to have suddenly compounded in terms of fuel prices or flight crew salaries and wages in the period before and after Aidilfitri which is from April 18 to 263.
Therefore, despite the “controlled” free market system here, the government should intervene by setting price controls or ceiling which must be adhered to by local commercial airlines that provide the relevant routes.
The government could also instruct the airline companies to increase their flight frequencies so that airfare prices can be reduced thereby enabling more passengers to utilise their services.
This was carried out by the former transport minister and MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong when the country was undergoing the 15th General Election (GE15). In fact, he also requested airline companies not to hike the price of airplane tickets during GE15, especially on voting day.
We hope that today’s unity government has the political will to solve this problem to facilitate and not stymy air travel as well as for the well-being of the rakyat. – April 7, 2023
Main pic credit: The Edge Weekly
