With the passing of the UNDI18 bill, plenty of students are now eligible to take part in the voting as well as election process.
But, it can be hard sometimes for students to have to go back to their hometowns to vote due to a lack of time or money.
Recently, The Sarawak Chinese Annual Conference (SCAC) Methodist Church Board of Social Concern launched a campaign called ‘Free Air Tickets, Return To Vote 2.0’ which is appealing for donors.
In an interview with The Borneo Post, the person in charge, Revd Nicholas Tan said the free flights campaign is open to tertiary students at both public and private institutions, irrespective of race, religion, or constituency, wishing to return to their hometowns to vote on November 19.
He estimated they would require at least RM300,000 to help students to return to vote.
“At the moment, we have barely raised RM5,000 (as of last night) while the number of applicants has exceeded over 700. Hopefully, we can receive more donations as time moves on.”
He said that donations received would be used to purchase airline tickets for the applicants on a first come, first served basis.
“We are calling on the people and church members to donate generously so that we can raise the funds to help as many students as possible to return to their respective hometown to vote,” he added.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that resources are limited as they do not accept donations from politicians and political parties and that the campaign seeks to help students unable to afford airline tickets.
“For those who can or have already bought their tickets, please be considerate and let other students who could not afford to buy the tickets to get the free offer to get the tickets to return to vote.”
Not their first time
During the 2018 election, Tan said that they raised about RM200,000 to help more than 600 students return to vote.
“This is a good platform for the donors to donate for the students to return to vote,” he added.
Tertiary students who wish to apply for free tickets must submit their application online, together with a valid student ID card and a certificate of eligibility. However, they have closed applications as they have received over 1000 applicants.
Donations can be channelled to Hong Leong Bank Account No. 25500017529 (Miri District SCAC) and donors can send their transfer receipts via WhatsApp to 012-8731232.
For more information, do contact Tan on 019-8548175.
Kudos to the Sarawak Methodist Church for launching this initiative! We hope that all of the applicants manage to get flight tickets to go back to their hometowns and vote.
Also read: MOHE to Allow Students to Return Home and Vote For GE15
