The Transport Ministry has announced that its student flight subsidy programme, FLYsiswa, will become a permanent annual initiative, benefiting tens of thousands of university students across the country.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook revealed that the Ministry of Transport (MOT) will institutionalise the FLYsiswa initiative, which provides subsidised domestic flight tickets for public university students travelling between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan.
Speaking in Parliament, Loke announced that Budget 2025 will allocate RM48 million for flight ticket subsidies, encompassing both the FLYsiswa initiative and festival season ticket subsidies.
The programme will utilise a credit shell system, with local airlines issuing digital vouchers worth RM300 to each eligible student. These vouchers can be redeemed for flight tickets along designated routes between East and West Malaysia.
According to Bernama, Loke said that “52,030 students are expected to be eligible for the subsidy this year.” Of this total, 22,226 students (42.7 per cent) are from Sabah, while 19,171 students (36.8 per cent) hail from Sarawak.
The initiative particularly focuses on supporting students from East Malaysia, who make up nearly 80 per cent of the beneficiaries, helping to reduce the financial burden of air travel between their homes and universities.
