KUALA LUMPUR: The price of one-way air tickets from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak will not exceed RM300 from Saturday (May 20), says Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister said the discounted rates is part of the ministry's pilot project which will only be applied in the three days leading to the Kaamatan and Gawai festivals.
"Flight ticket prices from Peninsula Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak will be lower and not more than RM300 starting Saturday midnight," he said.
Loke added that the government had agreed to subsidise the tickets to lighten the burden of Sabahans and Sarawakians who want to return to their hometowns for their respective festivals.
He said that the government will bear the cost of between RM5.8mil and RM11.4mil to subsidise one-way flight tickets from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak in celebration of the Kaamatan and Gawai festivals.
"The discounted flight tickets from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah will be applied three days before Kaamatan on May 27, 28 and 29," he told reporters during a press conference at Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB).
"For flight tickets from Peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak, the discounted rates will be applied three days before the Gawai festival on May 29, 30 and 31."
The Kaamatan festival is celebrated on May 30 in Sabah while the Gawai festival is celebrated on June 1 in Sarawak.
Loke added that the discounted flight tickets will be available for all airline companies flying to Sabah and Sarawak including AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air and MYairline.
