PETALING JAYA: Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman has asked why the island in Borneo has been left out of the subsidised flight ticket deal for the upcoming Kaamatan and Gawai festivals.
Suhaili said there were several thousand Kadazandusun, Murut (KDM) and Iban residents in Labuan whose children or relatives were residing in West Malaysia and who usually returned to the island for Kaamatan and Gawai.
“Is Labuan not in East Malaysia? These (KDM and Iban folk) are equally anxious as their Sabah and Sarawak counterparts about returning here for the festivals,” Daily Express quoted him as saying.
The Perikatan Nasional MP said a one-way flight from Kuala Lumpur to Labuan could exceed RM2,000 during festive seasons.
He added that some travellers making their way back for the festivities in the past were forced to fly to Kota Kinabalu first before catching a connecting flight to Labuan in the hope of getting more affordable airfares.
Suhaili claimed that Labuan had constantly been forgotten by federal ministers though it was made a Federal Territory in 1984.
On May 18, transport minister Loke Siew Fook said the government was subsidising the cost of flight tickets for Sabahans and Sarawakians to return home for the Kaamatan and Gawai festivals.
The price of a one-way flight ticket to the East Malaysian states will be capped at RM300, excluding taxes and fees.
The government is expected to spend between RM5.8 million and RM11.4 million for this. Kaamatan falls on May 30 while Gawai will be celebrated on June 1. - FMT
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