Fixed low airfares: Sandakan folks upset for not being included
Published on: Friday, December 30, 2022
By: Winnie Kasmir
Poon appealed to the Ministry of Transport to direct AirAsia to relook at the fares for Sandakan, too.
SANDAKAN: Sandakan folks are disappointed about not being included in the list for fixed low airfares during the festive season.Tanjung Papat Assemblyman cum Sabah DAP Chairman Datuk Frankie Poon said he was actually very pleased with the announcement made on Wednesday (Dec 28) of fixed low airfares for Sabah and Sarawak flights during the festive season from January 17 to 30.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, he was disappointed that Sandakan was not mentioned as one of the destinations.
“Sandakan was left out and I thought it was an oversight or omission on the part of the press. When I searched online for the AirAsia Sandakan route, it continues to be expensive at not less than RM650 to RM700 for round trip,” he said in a statement, Thursday.
Poon appealed to the Ministry of Transport to direct AirAsia to relook at the fares for Sandakan, too.
“Otherwise it would appear to be unfair to our students and families who have loved ones residing, working or studying in the peninsula.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The high fares would also be burdensome to many families, especially in such a trying and challenging time.
“Since the start of Covid-19, many families have lost their loved ones. Others have sacrificed their time and obliged to stay wherever they were until the Covid-19 pandemic had diminished,” he added.
ADVERTISEMENT
Poon said now that travel restrictions have been lifted, the Government should encourage family bonding to make up for the lost time.
“Personally, I believe many would stay longer once they have returned to make up time and also to use this opportunity to travel within Malaysia,” he said.
Three Penang
women lose
RM1.7mil to
Macau Scam
GEORGE TOWN: Three women in Penang suffered a loss of nearly RM1.7 million after falling prey to scammers who accused them of being involved in money-laundering activities.
Penang Deputy Police Chief Datuk Fisol Salleh said the first victim, a clerk living in Bukit Mertajam, lodged a police report on Dec 19 claiming that she had been scammed out of RM1,026,200 since July.
According to him, the victim told the police that she was contacted by scammers who disguised as a postal worker and a police officer and accused her of being involved in money-laundering activities.
“Panicked and scared that she would be detained by the police, the victim followed the suspects’ instructions to transfer her husband’s insurance money and savings to 13 separate accounts,” he said at a press conference here, Thursday.
Fisol said the second victim, a 41-year-old teacher from Seberang Perai Selatan who suffered a loss of RM203,200 lodged a police report on Dec 19, adding that the victim, who had been in contact with the Macau syndicate scammers since November, took out a bank loan amounting to RM190,000 to pay them to avoid being arrested by the police.
Another teacher from Seberang Perai Utara also made a police report on Dec 23 after losing RM439,000 to scammers, he added.
“The victim also took out a bank loan totalling RM300,000 to pay the syndicate where 15 transactions were made to eight separate accounts involving a total loss of RM439,000,” he said.
Fisol said further investigations were underway, adding that the three cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
“From January until yesterday, the Penang police recorded a total of 2,239 cybercrime cases involving a loss of RM79.5 million with the Macau scam cases being among the highest recorded at 921 cases involving a loss amounting to RM27.14 million,” he added.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
