GE15: Transport Ministry urged to control airfares - Bung Moktar

KOTA KINABALU: The Transport Ministry has been urged to control the prices of flight tickets between Sabah, Sarawak and the Peninsula ahead of the 15th General Election (GE15) polling day, said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.

Bung Moktar, who is also the state Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said that without such control, it would be difficult for the Sabahans and Sarawakians in the peninsula and vice-versa, to travel home to vote as prices of flight tickets were seen to be increasing.

He said the move by asking airlines to lower airfares was also crucial to ensure that cheaper tickets would encourage more Malaysians to return home to cast their votes in GE15.

"Round trip airfares, especially between Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia, are increasing two to three days before polling day on Nov 19. This is a worrying trend.

"This situation is detrimental to the country, especially affecting the young voters or Undi 18, as the airfares are expensive," he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Markas Siswa Siswi Islam Sabah (Marsis) and Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam SeMalaysia Sabah (Gamis), in a statement yesterday, raised the problem of students from Sabah in the peninsula who cannot return home to vote due to high airfares.

Checks on the airlines' websites found that round-trip ticket prices between Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur for Nov 18 and 19 ranged from RM400 to RM700, depending on the time, package and airline.

In this regard, Bung Moktar suggested to the Election Commission (EC) to include young voters as the early voters or postal voters to ensure that they do not miss out on their democratic duties.

He said the two categories could solve the problem of students who cannot afford the expensive airfares to fly home to vote, especially students from Sabah or Sarawak in the peninsula and vice versa.

"The EC must find a way to make it easier for students or young voters to fulfil their responsibilities and one of the best ways is to include them as early voters or postal voters," he said.

-- BERNAMA