SELANGOR: More than 20,000 students from Sabah have benefited from airfare ticket subsidies and transport assistance initiatives launched by both the State and Federal governments last year.
These initiatives are part of ongoing efforts to reduce the financial burden of students, particularly those pursuing higher education away from home.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, Armizan Mohd Ali, highlighted the importance of these initiatives, which aim to ease the rising cost-of-living, particularly the cost of travel during festive periods.
One of the key initiatives, the “Graduan Rindu Sabah Flight Ticket Subsidy Assistance Programme” (GRS/Subfly), was introduced by the Sabah State government in 2024 following requests from Sabahan students in Peninsular Malaysia.
The students had pointed out the high airfare costs when returning home during festive periods.
The GRS/Subfly programme offers RM600 in flight ticket subsidies to Sabah students studying in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan, he said.
He added in 2025, a total of 19,505 students benefitted from this subsidy, amounting to an overall expenditure of RM11.7 million.
Armizan, who is also the Member of Parliament for Papar, spoke at an iftar event with Sabah students studying in Peninsular Malaysia, representing Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The event, organised by the Yayasan Sabah Group, brought together over 1,200 Sabah students from 31 higher education institutions across the peninsula.
This event provided a valuable platform for direct interaction between the state government and students, offering a communication channel for students to share suggestions and raise concerns. Such engagements led to the establishment of initiatives like the GRS/Subfly programme.
Armizan said the Sabah Government introduced the “Sumbangan Mahasiswa Pengajian Tinggi Dalam Sabah” (Sentosa) initiative in 2025. This programme offered a one-off RM300 transportation subsidy to help students travel home during festive seasons.
He said a total of 22,649 students benefited from Sentosa in 2025, with a total allocation of RM6.79 million. He said the Federal Government launched a similar programme through the Ministry of Transport Malaysia under the “Flysiswa” aid initiative in 2023.
“This flight subsidy programme, which benefits students from public universities, polytechnics, and community colleges, as well as matriculation colleges and teacher education institutes, was enhanced in 2025.
“The digital voucher under Flysiswa was increased to RM400 from the previous RM300.
“In total, 25,289 Sabah students benefitted from the Flysiswa programme in 2025, including 18,335 students in Peninsular Malaysia, 3,751 in Sarawak, and 3,203 in Labuan,” he said.
Armizan said his Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living appreciated the commitment shown by the Sabah Government and the Ministry of Transport Malaysia in implementing the GRS/SUBFLY, Sentosa and Flysiswa initiatives.
He said the initiatives demonstrated the strong commitment of both the Sabah government and the federal government in addressing cost-of-living challenges faced by students.
