Bayan Baru MP urges transport minister to probe soaring airfare
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — PKR's Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin today urged Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong to order the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) to immediately launch an investigation into the exorbitant prices of domestic flights.
As a regulator, Sim said it was imperative that Mavcom took action to protect passengers' interests.
"The 15th general election (GE15) will happen anytime soon, and I demand that Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong carry out his duty one last time.
"He has to immediately call for Mavcom to fix a ceiling price for flight tickets during GE15 to make travelling easier for voters,” Sim told reporters today during a press conference at the Parliament building here.
Sim made this call after he recently received complains from the public over expensive domestic flights.
"I give you a few examples, on September 18, a trip from Alor Setar to Subang is RM719 (Firefly), Penang to Subang is RM639 (Firefly) and Alor Setar to KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) RM1,479.04 (MAS).
"If we compare RM639 for Penang to Subang, with the same price we can take a flight to Bangkok, Thailand and with RM1,479.04 we can fly to Sydney, Australia,” he said.
