Transport Ministry must come up with contingency plans for festive seasons

Wanita MCA Sabah notes the announcement by Transport Minister Anthony Loke regarding additional flight frequencies to Sabah and Sarawak for Hari Raya Aidilfitri using wide-body or larger aircrafts to accommodate demand.

Although Loke did also mention that airfares are expected to decrease with the additional flights, the government should already have prepared contingency plans and options before passenger dissatisfaction was voiced.

How long do Malaysians have to encounter the same scenario year in, year out, where flight tickets between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak rise sharply before major celebrations such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri?

The government should anticipate that the price of air tickets will fly high during festive seasons and thus take the appropriate measures before airline companies raise their prices. A proactive, quick reaction to such expected market speculation will discourage public perception of the government as a square block which only implements knee-jerk reflex responses after passengers air their grievances.

Why did the government wait for people to complain before making the announcement of additional flights during Aidilfitri? The Transport Ministry should be aware by now that this is an annual occurrence.

Besides Aidilfitri, East Malaysians on the Peninsular relive the same predicament annually for Pesta Kaamatan in Sabah, Hari Gawai in Sarawak and for Christmas.

The expensive airfares pose a huge burden to our fellow Malaysians who have to cross the South China Sea to be able to reunite with their families as ticket prices can leap anywhere from 156 to 1,374% compared to non-festive periods.

Although Malaysia practises an open market system whereby prices are determined by a supply-and-demand mechanism, no other options are available for airline passengers because air travel is their only suitable mode of transportation.

We do not believe there is any justification for the costs to have suddenly compounded in terms of fuel prices or flight crew salaries and wages in the period before and after Aidilfitri, that is, from 18 to 26 April 2023.

Therefore, despite the “controlled” free market system here, the government should intervene by setting price controls or a ceiling which must be adhered to by local commercial airlines that provide the relevant routes.

The government could also instruct the airline companies to increase the flight frequencies so that airfare prices can be reduced thereby enabling more passengers to utilise their services.

This was carried out by the former Minister of Transport and MCA President Datuk Seri Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong when the country was undergoing the 15th General Election (GE15).

In fact, he also requested the airline companies not to hike the price of airplane tickets during GE15, especially on voting day.

We hope that today's unity government has the political will to solve this problem to facilitate and not stymy air travel, as well as for the well-being of the rakyat.

Dr Pamela Yong

MCA Deputy Secretary General