By Karen Bong
KUCHING, April 22: The proposal to establish Sarawak’s own boutique airline will facilitate greater connectivity with direct flights, including to international destinations, thereby eliminating the need for time-consuming transit stops and reducing associated costs.
Instead of being judgemental and critical, Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng emphasised that people should support this effort by the Sarawak government, whose motive is not to make a high profit but for the benefit of Sarawakians.
Moreover, with Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara coming up and near Sarawak, he said Sarawak would lose out if it does not grab this golden opportunity to enhance the region’s air connectivity.
“Going to Jakarta from Kuching directly will only take about two and a half hours. But currently, you need to fly from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and then transit there to Jakarta, which will take about four and a half hours, excluding two hours of wait time for transit. So that’s not only time wasted but also expensive.
“As such, I believe that setting up our own airline that will allow us to have more direct flights will boost Sarawak in terms of economy and tourism,” he shared during his ShallWeeTalk online session today.
With a home-grown airline, Wee added that Sarawak could determine the airfares and make it affordable for Sarawakians.
“That’s why the Premier (of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg) said the initiative is not about making high profit like commercial airlines do.
“If we ask AirAsia or Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to drop their prices, the Federal government will have to reimburse or subsidise them, which will still be using taxpayers’ money,” he said.
While he believes there should be a ceiling price on airfares operated by commercial airlines to prevent such price gouging, Wee also questioned why can’t the Federal government subsidise airfares to Sarawak when it has allocated RM93 million for free toll during Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration, which only goes to benefit those in Peninsula Malaysia as there are no tolls in Sarawak.
He mentioned that the issue of exorbitant airfares with prices that can reach up to RM2,000 for economy class just to travel between KL and Kuching, especially during festive periods, was a genuine concern for many Sarawakians, especially students and those working outside Sarawak who are most affected by this.
He stressed that more festive celebrations are coming up, like Gawai and Christmas, and people need to travel to be with their loved ones.
With over a decade of experience in tourism, while Abang Johari was also a former tourism minister, Wee said apart from infrastructure, connectivity, which is now lacking, is crucial to boost Sarawak’s economy.
“Currently, KL, Singapore and Sabah remain the main access points, and Sarawak is surrounded within the region.
“Furthermore, we could tap into the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area) to create more direct international flight connectivities to reduce the travel time through transit,” he said.
With the blueprint for the boutique airline not finalised, Wee called on everyone to enhance engagements and discussions, provide good and innovative ideas and feedback and keep an open mind to see the bigger picture to make this happen for the benefit of Sarawak and Sarawakians. — DayakDaily
