KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 158,632 students have registered for the government’s FLYsiswa flight subsidy scheme, with 118,786 of them already benefiting from it, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the figures cover the period from the scheme’s introduction in 2023 up to Sept 22, 2025.
“In total, 158,632 students have registered and 118,786 students have received benefits from this initiative,” he said in a parliamentary written reply to Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau.
A total of 50,095 students registered in 2023 with 37,551 receiving the subsidy. In 2024, 52,055 registered and 37,498 benefited. For 2025 so far, 56,482 students have signed up and 43,737 have received assistance.
Loke said the FLYsiswa initiative was introduced in 2023 to help ease the financial burden on students who need to fly home between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia including Labuan.
The scheme provides a subsidy for domestic flight tickets for students at public universities (IPTA), polytechnics and community colleges under the Higher Education Ministry, as well as matriculation students and trainee teachers at Institutes of Teacher Education (IPG) under the Education Ministry.
“FLYsiswa is aimed at reducing the financial burden of students who want to return to their hometowns using domestic flights between the peninsula, Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan,” he said.
Based on the students’ home states, Sabah accounts for the largest group of recipients with 51,372 students, followed by Sarawak with 38,151 students and Labuan with 2,238 students. Another 27,025 recipients are from other states.
Loke said most of the eligible students are studying at public higher education institutions in Peninsular Malaysia, reflecting the large number of Sabah and Sarawak students who pursue their studies there.
In terms of institutions, a total of 131 institutions nationwide have been involved in the scheme between 2023 and 2025.
These include 21 public universities, which account for the bulk of recipients with 99,716 students, 36 polytechnics with 3,408 students, and 44 community colleges with 174 students. Two matriculation colleges contributed 5,915 student recipients, while 28 IPG campuses recorded 9,573 beneficiaries.
“Overall, the implementation of the FLYsiswa initiative has provided significant benefits to students from Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan by helping to reduce the cost of air travel when they return to their hometowns,” Loke said.
He was responding to Madius, who had asked for the total number of students registered and receiving subsidies under FLYsiswa since its introduction, with a breakdown by year, state of origin, place of study and type of institution.
Responding to Oscar Ling Chai Yew (PH–Sibu), Loke said the government’s total spending on FLYsiswa for 2023, 2024 and 2025 amounted to RM40.01mil for 118,786 student beneficiaries, with RM11.27mil spent in 2023, RM11.25mil in 2024 and RM17.49mil so far in 2025.
