“If you put a cap on how high prices can go, then it’s good for tourism. But the floor price should be capped too,” he told a press conference today in commenting on a Malay Mail report that the Malaysian Aviation Commission was considering allowing airlines to increase domestic flight airfares by only 2.5 times the average fares during peak seasons.
Nazri said some airlines offered airfares that were too low, to the point they affected other airlines.
“Sure, cheaper flights are good for competition and tourism, but the prices can’t be ridiculously low.
“In business, new players may try to get ahead of the competition by dropping their prices, and once their competition is out of business, they then raise their prices.”
Previously, Deputy Transport Minister Ab Aziz Kaprawi said the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) would be tasked with drafting proposals by June for airfares during festive seasons, but former Malaysia Airlines CEO, Abdul Aziz Rahman cautioned against this, saying the rates were best decided by the market.
On a separate issue, Nazri revealed that the government had collected RM39 million in tourism tax between Sept 1, 2017, and Dec 31, 2017.
“We have given half of that amount back to the states based on their contributions.”
Earlier, in a speech delivered at the signing on a MoU for the development of a Dolce Hotel in Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan, Nazri said it was important that the names of places in Malaysia be retained to reflect their heritage.
“As an example, we have a place called Batang Berjuntai which is now called Bestari Jaya. I don’t know what the hell Bestari Jaya is all about and what it has to do with Batang Berjuntai.
“If the name has changed simply because of its negative connotation, then it is sick because it shows that someone is always thinking of Batang Berjuntai (Dangling Branch).”
Nazri said in Singapore, even though the country was developed, it had not changed the name of Hospital Kandang Kerbau.
“In Malaysia, too many places are changing their names, some change to English names… we have Jaya this and Jaya that, Seri this and Seri that.”
One example, he said, was Bangsar South, even though the name Kampung Kerinchi was fine.
He said when it came to properties, it was all about location and not the name, saying a property in a strategic location would appeal to anyone.
Nazri urged state governments and local authorities, who ultimately have the power to decide on a place’s name, to retain the original names to reflect their heritage.