THE Transport Ministry is exploring mechanisms to overcome the problem of costly flight ticket prices ahead of festive seasons, especially to and from Sabah and Sarawak.

Its minister Anthony Loke said he was tasked by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during the last cabinet meeting to find a solution to the matter.

“The ministry is looking for ways to solve this problem not only for the Hari Raya festivities but also other festivals such as Chinese New Year and Hari Gawai.

“In fact, almost two months ago, various plans and discussions were made, such as increasing the ticket quota beginning March, to overcome this problem,” he told reporters after

presenting Raya gifts to passengers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport terminal 2, last night.

Loke added that the ministry was also planning a similar initiative to help students return to their hometowns not only during the festive season, but also during semester breaks.

He said the target group for the initiative would first be students from public institutions of higher learning, and that these students were identified through a collaboration with the Higher Education Ministry.

“This (mechanism) is also being refined but the main thing is we have identified and obtained data on students from Sabah and Sarawak who are studying in the peninsula.

“The same goes for students from the peninsula who are studying in the two states. There are more than 50,000 in this group,” he said. – Bernama, April 21, 2023.