Sabah leaders welcome flight ticket subsidy

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah leaders welcomed the announcement by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor on the RM10 million flight ticket subsidy for all Sabah students studying at private and public higher education institutions in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Labuan.

Assistant Ministers to the Chief Minister Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan and Datuk Ruslan Muharam said that the subsidy will ease the burden of the students and their parents.

Nizam in a statement on Tuesday said the flight ticket subsidy will benefit around 18,000 students.

“The subsidy will assist students in returning to their hometowns to reunite with their beloved families before Aidilfitri,” said the Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) information chief.

Nizam added that the state government had also allocated RM67.4 million for the Sabah Foundation Group this year to assist Sabahans pursuing education within or outside the country.

This allocation increased by RM13.6 million compared to last year’s allocation, he said.

“The announcement proves that the GRS PH Plus government under the leadership of Hajiji is serious about assisting and improving the education of students from Sabah.

“The state government’s aspiration, in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya halatuju, is to strengthen human capital development and improve the level of education in Sabah. Hopefully, with the efforts taken by the government, students from Sabah would be encouraged to pursue and achieve their dreams,” he said.

Ruslan in a separate statement yesterday said that the state government’s initiative could also help students to afford flight tickets, especially during emergencies and celebrations, he opined.

“This will undoubtedly alleviate the burden of students who are financially disadvantaged in purchasing flight tickets, especially during emergencies and celebrations,” he said.

Ruslan, who is Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Vice President said the state government is always concerned about the needs of the people, especially for students who are financially disadvantaged in purchasing flight tickets.

Sabah Youth Council (MBS) also expressed its appreciation to the Sabah State Government for giving the airline ticket subsidy.

Its president, Abqaree Fawwaz Abekan, said the Chief Minister’s decision was in line with the needs of students from Sabah.

“Before this MBS was also affected by the sighs of higher learning students from Sabah who were not able to return home during festivities,” he said.

“The announcement by the Chief Minister is good news for the Sabah children who are from low income families,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Abqaree also urged the State Government to continue its commitment to meet the needs of youths in Sabah.

He also commended the past efforts of the government such as the Sabah Youth Entrepreneur Jaya scheme (SYABAS) and Sabah Youth Council programme that had brought significant impacts towards the development of 2.4 million youths in Sabah.

“MBS hopes the state government continues to be committed towards the aspiration and needs of youths in Sabah for a better future for the state,” he said.

On Monday, Hajiji announced that the Sabah government will provide a one-time subsidy of RM600 for the purchase of flight tickets to Sabah students studying at private and public higher learning institutes in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Labuan.

The announcement was made after he attended the breaking of fast ceremony for higher learning institute students in Peninsular Malaysia at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre, Bayan Lepas, Penang, which was attended by about 1,400 Sabah students.