PRESS RELEASE
Kuala Lumpur, 26 July 2001

PBS : Reduce KK-KL fare for national integration

Kuala Lumpur, Thurs. – Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) has called on the federal government to reduce the airfare charged by Malaysia Airlines for travellers on the Kota Kinabalu-Kuala Lumpur route as the present rate was too high thereby hindering national integration.

Bandau member of parliament, Dr Maximus Ongkili told parliament that for many years political and business leaders in Sabah had persistently called on MAS to reduce the airfare structure for the region but such calls fell on deaf years.

Debating an emergency motion tabled by Husam Musa (Pas-Kubang Kerian) to question the 51.8 per cent increase in MAS domestic airfare in the Peninsula, Ongkili stressed that a lower airfare was required for KK-KL travel to enhance integration as well as promote domestic tourism and business development in Sabah.

"While it is to be appreciated that the KL-Sabah and KL-Sarawak sectors as well as all domestic routes within the two states have been exempted from the present increase in airfare, the present airfares charged by MAS are actually too high and should be reduced downwards.

"It is publicly known that these two key sectors are extremely profitable for MAS and income earned is actually used to subsidise the domestic routes within the two states and other unprofitable routes in the Peninsula," he claimed.

Ongkili who is also PBS deputy president urged the government to ensure that the exemption in fare increase for the Sabah and Sarawak sectors was not just temporary and a political move, adding "we do not want the government to suddenly review upwards the existing fares after the Sarawak state election is concluded later in the year."

On the proposed amendments in the Employees Provident Fund (Amendment) Bill 2001, Ongkili urged the EPF Investment Panel to be transparent in their investment decisions and subject their decisions to public scrutiny.

"The EPF fund is the hard-earned money of contributors. It is not government money. It is therefore to be invested wisely and not used to support political decisions of the government by rescuing ailing companies that are politically connected," he argued.

He added that the EPF should also ensure that the personal data of contributors were protected at all times to prevent illegal withdrawals by "phantom members" through the use of fake identity cards.