KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — The flight ticket subsidy for students of public institutions of higher education, or the FLYsiswa initiative, aims to alleviate the financial burden on students who wish to return to their hometowns in line with the value of ‘Compassion’ in the Malaysia Madani concept, Deputy Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusoff.
He said it is also a manifestation of the Unity Government’s commitment to upholding the value mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“This is how the Unity Government is showing compassion; by helping higher education students who wish to return to their hometowns. With this (subsidy) programme, we hope it can alleviate their (financial) burden,” he said at the launch of the FLYsiswa initiative at Universiti Malaysia here today.
Fadillah also expressed hope that the initiative, which also benefits students from polytechnics, Teacher Education Institutes, and matriculation colleges, would give peace of mind to the students, enabling them to concentrate better on their studies.
“During my (university) days, we had to go on standby at the airport because we could not afford the full-price tickets, we only paid using our student’s pass. Being on standby means we have to wait for an available seat, sometimes having to spend a couple of nights at the airport.
“So, we don’t want the students today to go through such situations,” said Fadillah, sharing his experience as an alumnus of Universiti Malaya.
Launched on Aug 15, the FLYsiswa subsidy is given to eligible students in the form of a credit shell, a RM300 digital voucher redeemable for the purchase of flight tickets for domestic routes between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
— Bernama
