We got the best news of the day after our Right Honourable Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has agreed in principle to Sarawak in establishing its own boutique airline company.
He had mentioned this during the official opening of Raia Hotel and Convention Centre Kuching which was held on April 17. It was mentioned during his speech and as the response to a request made by our Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg on that matter. According to Datuk Seri Anwar, the said the matter will be brought up at the Federal Cabinet's meeting on April 18 for further discussion. Our esteemed Prime Minister had given his assurance that the Federal Government will give an official answer with himself as the chairman of the Cabinet to provide the way. "Insyallah, the other friends in the Cabinet will also agree,” he said to the thunderous applause by the audience who were there to witness the Prime Minister's speech.
According to the Prime Minister, the matter was also previously brought up at the last Federal Cabinet meeting, and was also mentioned at a recent dialogue with University Teknologi Mara (UiTM) students following their grouses of high fares for air travel from the peninsula to Sabah and Sarawak.
He expressed high hopes that the Sarawak government, with its good performance, can manage its own boutique airline but stressed that past experiences showed that running an airline company is not easy. But it has been proven that airfares to Sabah and Sarawak from the peninsula are high, and that Federal Transport Minister Anthony Loke has conducted several negotiations with existing airline companies to reduce the cost in the spirit of unity and spirit of ties between the state and federal governments.
Earlier, our Right Honourable Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Abang Haji Open had said Sarawak hopes to be able to stabilise the price of airfares with the establishment of its own boutique airline. With many tourism attractions to offer, Sarawak had relied heavily on airlines to bring in visitors here.
He had also mentioned the price of airfares to Kuching is too expensive where an air ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching is almost similar to a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong. This is why the Sarawak government is ready to establish its own boutique airline and we held high hopes for our Prime Minister to approve our request.
Sarawak government is ever ready to invest in a small airline company to start an airline that would serve as a facility to bring in more tourists to Sarawak. The proposed state-owned boutique airline would not be profit-motivated as it is geared towards facilitating tourist arrivals into the state. The boutique airline would be owned by Sarawak with its own set up model without following other airlines such as Malaysia Airlines or AirAsia.
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