KUCHING, Oct 21 — Airlines have been urged to provide cheaper fares to enable the people to return to cast their votes during the 15th general election (GE15).
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) senior vice-president Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the move will lighten the burden of voters who needed to travel by air.
According to him, the government is not providing funds to help voters return to vote.
“The government cannot provide allocation for voters to return as it is not allowed by law.
“Unless there are quarters or individuals who want to sponsor (air tickets),” he told reporters after attending a Petra Jaya Parliamentary GE15 preparation meeting here today.
Yesterday, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) would be monitoring ticket prices so that airlines did not arbitrarily raise prices during GE15.
Wee said even though flight tickets usually go up according to the dynamic pricing mechanism when there is a certain event involving the movement of people, Mavcom will take action if an airline is found increasing prices not according to the stipulated conditions.
The Election Commission (EC) has set GE polling day on Nov 19 with nomination day on Nov 5 and early voting on Nov 15.
