Last flights home for Sabah tertiary students on June 5

He said the state government is committed to ensuring the 11,000 Sabah IPT students are brought home, but it has to be done in stages to meet the standard operating procedure for their safety and health in the wake of the COVID-19 infection.

At present, Yusof said not all students can be brought home before the Hari Raya and Kaamatan Festival and hoped that parents and students would understand the situation.

"I know some are dissatisfied because of this. The state government are coordinating (the process of bringing the students back to Sabah) as best as we can, but we should also consider their safety and health to curb the spread of COVID-19," he said.

He said this after receiving a group of tertiary students arriving via chartered flights at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here, yesterday.

Four flights from Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak carrying 1,027 students arrived at KKIA yesterday and 906 students will arrive today via four more flights.

The next flights are scheduled on May 27 and May 28 while the last flight is scheduled on June 5.

Yusof said Sabah spent about RM2.7 million for the flights and the cost would be borne by the state and federal government.