TRANSPORT Minister Anthony Loke expressed hope that a subsidy initiative for public university students, worth RM300 for the purchase of flight tickets for domestic routes, can be made into annual aid to ease the financial burden of the group.

He said the initiative, which he announced yesterday, was a pilot effort implemented by his ministry, which was not allocated in the Budget 2023, but was instead the result of efficient financial management, by using funds from unused allocations.

“This initiative is a transfer of allocations we do not need for this year, and we did not return it to the Finance Ministry, but rather it was transferred to be used for the implementation of new initiatives,” he said during a press conference, after launching the high-capacity bus by Konsortium E-Mutiara Bhd in Shah Alam today.

“There was an allocation for the trial of the MH17 case amounting to approximately RM15 million, but the trial has been completed, and we will transfer the money to a new initiative, which is to subsidise the purchase of airline tickets,” he said.

However, he said he told the cabinet that, when the government starts an initiative, it is certain that the people expect it not to be implemented on a one-off basis, but annually.

Yesterday Loke introduced a subsidy initiative for public university students, worth RM300, for the purchase of flight tickets for domestic routes between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan, which will begin on August 15.

He said this initiative would be implemented through a credit shell, where participating airlines will issue a digital voucher worth RM300 to each eligible student to redeem for purchasing flight tickets for domestic routes. – Bernama, July 13, 2023.