The people are the real winners, says political observer on Dr Wee highlighting high airfare

PETALING JAYA: It is the people who will benefit from former transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong highlighting the exorbitant cost of flight tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau for the coming Hari Raya celebrations, says a political observer.

Despite the MCA president having received waves of criticism from Pakatan Harapan supporters, a local news portal quoted the observer, Lim Sian See, saying it was Dr Wee’s voice that led to various positive outcomes from the issue.

"Voicing out on the issue saw Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and other airline companies requesting for their flight schedules to be removed from the AirAsia ticketing applications.

"It also increased public awareness on how flight prices could be much higher on third-party sites," Lim was quoted as saying.

Lim was also quoted as saying that another positive outcome was through the Cabinet instructing current Transport Minister Anthony Loke to find a mechanism to lower ticket prices.

"In the end, the public benefits. Congratulations WKS," Lim said.

On Sunday (April 16), Dr Wee had said he had received complaints about the high price of a one-way flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on the airasia Super App.

The fare displayed on the app for an economy-class flight ticket on April 20 was RM3,138.

However, the Malaysia Airlines app listed it as a business-class ticket.

Describing it as shocking and disappointing, Dr Wee also called on the relevant authorities such as the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the Transport Ministry to look into the matter.

Loke later said the average ticket price for an economy class direct flight to Sabah ranged from RM200 and RM800, depending on when tickets are purchased.

He added that MAS was also seeking an injunction to stop the airasia Super App from offering the national carrier's flight tickets for sale.

Loke also asked those who bought MAS economy class direct flight tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau at RM3,138 to bring them to him.