TRANSPORT Minister Anthony Loke said a total of 35,994 or 72% of 50,096 eligible students of public universities have submitted their applications for the RM300 digital voucher under the FLYsiswa subsidy programme, adding 14,000 of them have yet to apply and are advised to do so before the application period closes on December 31.

“Universiti Teknologi Mara has the highest number of students benefitting from the programme at 7,791 followed by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (6,280), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (4,975), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (4,780) and Universiti Malaya (2,267).”

Loke said this at the launch of the FLYsiswa programme by Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur today. Also present was Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi.

In his opening speech, Loke also suggested that students plan their journey well so that they can fully utilise the subsidy, which has now been extended to students from polytechnics, Teacher Education Institutes, and matriculation colleges.

“The RM300 is not necessarily spent on just one ticket. If a ticket costs only RM150, the remaining balance can be used for the next ticket. The mechanism is very simple,” he said.

He said his ministry is also exploring options to increase the amount and expand the assistance to private universities, but it would depend on the government’s fiscal situation and taking into account the number of students.

Loke said FLYsiswa is one of the government’s initiatives to alleviate the travel costs borne by students.

Launched on August 15, the FLYsiswa subsidy is given in the form of a credit shell, a RM300 digital voucher redeemable for the purchase of flight tickets for domestic routes between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim when tabling Budget 2024 announced the subsidy would continue next year, benefiting nearly 60,000 students. – Bernama, December 8, 2023.