ALMOST 6,000 Sarawak students in West Malaysia, Sabah and Labuan have cashed in on the state government’s travel subsidy for those planning to fly home for the Gawai Dayak and Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations next month.

The Sarawak government introduced the RM300 travel subsidy this year for full-time students in universities and institutions of higher learning registered with the education ministry.

The latest count by the Sarawak Volunteers secretariat, which manages the applications for the travel subsidy, was 5,604.

“The figure is rising sharply as the days draw nearer to the festivals,” a staff at the secretariat , who declined to be identified, said.

The staff said so far, 5,446 applications for the subsidy had been processed with 3,545 approved.

The Gawai Dayak celebration – the rice harvest festival – falls on June 1 every year and is a two-day public holiday in the state.

Since the second day of the Gawai – which means ‘celebrate’ in the Iban language – falls on Sunday, June 3 is a public holiday.

Dayaks make it a point to be home in their respective longhouses before Gawai on the eve as the merry-making is loudest and rowdiest on that night.

The Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations this year are tentatively on June 5 and 6. – May 24, 2019.