PETALING JAYA: Pricey air tickets for flights between the peninsula and Sabah/Sarawak made students think hard about flying over to spend the Hari Raya break with their families.
Earlier checks on the airfares of some major airlines showed expensive one-way flights from April 5-9 on Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, with the cheapest tickets priced at RM865 and RM671, respectively.
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The cheapest ticket in the opposite direction from Kuching was RM318, and between RM388 and RM905 from Kota Kinabalu.
AirAsia flight tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, on the high side, were at RM494 and RM1,044 respectively, with flights in the opposite direction at RM351 and RM348 over the same period.
The cheapest flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu for Batik Air is RM442 and RM532 (going up to RM610) respectively, while passengers on the opposite way would have to pay up to RM523 and RM742.
Universiti Malaya Students Union president Nur Nazirah Abdullah said the high fares, coupled with the rising cost of living, had over 2,000 students “on the fence” about returning to their hometowns in Sabah and Sarawak.
She said after all their hard work, students deserved to go back and spend time with their families.
“They just can’t afford it, especially those from Sabah as tickets to the state tend to be more expensive. I know students who have to work part-time during semester breaks just to make some money.
“So while other students happily return home, this group is forced to take on additional part-time jobs just to pay for their airfares,” she said.
She said to make things worse, the added burden and stress of part-time work could affect their academic performance.
Over in Kota Kinabalu, Universiti Malaysia Sabah student council president Roslan Abdullah said of the students who come from the peninsula, over 100 of them had complained of high airfares of about RM1,000 for a round trip.
“This has left many of them homesick and even depressed. This affects not just their academic performance but emotional health too,” he said.
