Flight ticket assistance takes financial and emotional load off students

KUALA LUMPUR: The flight ticket assistance for students of public institutions of higher education (IPTA), which was announced on Friday (June 30), is a two-pronged initiative that not only helps students financially but also helps them focus on their studies.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Sabah Students' Association president Muhammad Zikri Rosle said having to purchase flight tickets to return home, which might be quite costly during festive seasons, could be an emotional burden for students.

"Some of our members work part-time just to buy flight tickets, some even have to forgo the idea of returning to Sabah during festive seasons because the tickets are too expensive... and this alone exerts pressure on them so much so that some lose focus and affects their mood to study," he told Bernama.

On Friday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said his ministry will introduce an initiative this August to ease the financial burden of IPTA students, especially from Sabah and Sarawak, to buy return flight tickets.

Loke said the initiative was still in the process of integration with the airlines.

Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya (UM) student Fathurrahman Mohammed Rajli, 24, said the initiative could help students from Sabah and Sarawak who want to continue their studies at the university of their choice in the peninsula.

Fathurrahman, who was from Sibu, Sarawak, said that although there were efforts from the state government such as flight ticket assistance and MHexplorer accounts by Malaysia Airlines, the government’s proposal to draft the initiative was spot-on to ease the financial burden of parents.

President of Sarawak Chapter Patriot Club of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Nur Alishar Mohamad Ali, on the other hand, hopes this initiative can be given periodically every semester and not just annually to deserving students.

"In addition to being helped in the form of e-credit, assistance to students is also expected to be given in terms of special discounts to Sarawak and Sabah students, especially for round-trip fares during semester breaks and festive holidays...this can also ease our burden to return home for family emergencies," she said.

Harith Hidayat Abdul Gani, 22, who hails from Kuala Langat, Selangor and is continuing his studies at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), also welcomed the proposal and suggested that the government also look at initiatives to help students with fares to the airport.

"It takes about 20 minutes to go from my college to Kuching International Airport but that doesn’t factor in the traffic situation...so when there is congestion, the fare can go up from RM10 to RM20, RM30," he said. - Bernama