KUCHING: The government’s initiative in capping airfare prices from West Malaysia to East Malaysia before the Hari Raya celebration will benefit consumers, especially Malaysians who need to travel to their hometown in Sarawak and Sabah during the festive seasons.
Economist Dr Madeline Berma said the new regulation will safeguard consumer purchasing power, allowing passengers, especially those from lower-income families, to access airline services more affordably.
“Theoretically, according to the public-interest theory of regulation, it assumes that regulation is established primarily for the benefit of society.
“Holding to this view, one could argue that the airline industry was regulated for reasons such as national interest or curtailment of monopoly powers. Therefore, the public benefited from regulation,” she said.
Dr Madeline was responding to the recent government’s decision to cap airfares at RM599 for one-way economy class flights from the peninsular to Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan for travel on the three days before the Hari Raya celebration.
The Senior Fellow at the Institut Masa Depan Malaysia (MASA) also expressed hope that the government would regulate price ceilings to all routes, particularly within Sarawak and Sabah, where internal flight costs are typically high, especially during festive seasons.
“Besides, setting price-ceiling, it is important for the government to regulate airlines to increase the frequency of their services, while complying with service quality and safety standards to protect consumers,” she said.
The government, she said, must also ensure that airlines address common passenger issues on routes servicing rural Sarawak and Sabah, such as flight delays and cancellations.
“The airlines could look into reimbursement methods, passenger rights and voucher redemption,” she said.
