{"id":54515,"date":"2023-08-08T13:30:53","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T05:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-my-161844363.ap-southeast-1.elb.amazonaws.com\/articles\/?p=54515"},"modified":"2023-08-08T15:35:30","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T07:35:30","slug":"voting-travel-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/voting-travel-costs","title":{"rendered":"How Much Will It Cost You To Balik Kampung To Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malaysians from these six states; Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan will return to the polls on 12th August for the State elections. As is usually the case, many of us have our polling stations back in our hometown – despite residing elsewhere in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

While it is not impossible for most of us to find the funds to pay for a weekend back home to do our civic duty, it\u2019s still an additional expense that\u2019s not in our monthly budgets. So we asked ourselves, how much more do we need to spend this month to include this extra trip back home?<\/span><\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s clarify what expenses we are including in this cost breakdown. We assume that accommodation is not an expense as you are likely to have somewhere to stay. So, the only cost we\u2019re going to include here will be transportation costs, such as petrol and tolls and bus\/airplane tickets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, we are not including the additional transportation costs associated with not driving; such as calling a Grab or taxi to the airport.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>North and south destinations<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Okay so to start our cost breakdown, let\u2019s have a look at the costs of going back to your hometown if your hometown is located in the north.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Starting point<\/th>Destination<\/th>Fuel expenses (estimate)<\/th>Toll expenses<\/th>Bus tickets (cheapest)<\/th>Airplane tickets (cheapest)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Johor<\/td>Perlis<\/td>RM80.05<\/td>RM74.51<\/td>RM163<\/td>RM444<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kuala Lumpur<\/td>Perlis<\/td>RM47.15<\/td>RM35.50<\/td>RM90<\/td>RM316<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Johor<\/td>Penang<\/td>RM67.65<\/td>RM71.91<\/td>RM154<\/td>RM464<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kuala Lumpur<\/td>Penang<\/td>RM34.85<\/td>RM35.50<\/td>RM80<\/td>RM307<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kuala Lumpur<\/td>Johor<\/td>RM32.08<\/td>RM38.54<\/td>RM50<\/td>RM343<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Here\u2019s the cost breakdown for all the most popular destinations in the north and south parts of Malaysia. Unsurprisingly, the most expensive trip is if you\u2019re making your way from Johor to Perlis, which is a whopping 824 kilometres. If you\u2019re driving, the trip will cost you around RM80.05 in fuel (calculated using a MyVi\u2019s fuel consumption, because MyVi is the most popular car in Malaysia) and RM74.51 in tolls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This means that the total cost of the trip will be RM154.56, which is cheaper than travelling by bus (RM163) or flight (RM444). However, the trip will be taxing on your body as it is going to be 9 hours 16 minutes drive. You also have to consider the strain on your car if you\u2019re going to drive it that long, which means that it will probably need a service before the trip to avoid the risk of it breaking down during the drive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, for the other destinations, almost all of them are cheaper if you\u2019re driving compared to taking the bus and flights, except for from Kuala Lumpur to Johor, where a bus is the cheapest option.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The east coast<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Now that we\u2019ve covered the north and south, let\u2019s have a look at destinations on the east coast. On the east coast, the most popular voting destinations are Kelantan and Terengganu, so we\u2019re going to cover only these two destinations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Starting point<\/th>Destination<\/th>Fuel expenses (estimate)<\/th>Toll expenses<\/th>Bus tickets (cheapest)<\/th>Airplane tickets (cheapest)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Kuala Lumpur<\/td>Kota Bharu<\/td>RM43.05<\/td>RM29.46<\/td>RM68<\/td>RM507<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kuala Lumpur <\/td>Kuala Terengganu<\/td>RM45.10<\/td>RM43.27<\/td>RM67.60<\/td>RM398<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Johor<\/td>Kota Bharu<\/td>RM69.70<\/td>RM9.68<\/td>RM116<\/td>RM808<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Johor <\/td>Kuala Terengganu<\/td>RM55.31<\/td>RM9.68<\/td>RM96.8<\/td>RM513<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

For destinations on the east coast, again, it\u2019s not surprising to see that the trip from Johor to Kelantan is the most expensive one, especially on the flight tickets as it\u2019s a whopping 710 kilometres trip. However, some of you might be surprised by the low toll rates, but this is because there are no tolled roads on the trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

All in, even by driving or taking the bus,\u00a0 travelling expenses alone will cost over RM300 or almost RM1000 if you choose to fly. Add to that incidental costs for getting to the polling centre, food or meeting up with friends and family if you are back home and that may add another RM100 to M200 to your balik kampung expenses, excluding room and board!<\/div><\/div>\n

<\/span>Peninsular Malaysia – East Malaysia<\/span><\/h2>\n

If your home town is in East Malaysia and you work in Peninsular Malaysia or vice versa, the option to drive all the way home is off the table for you.<\/p>\n

You have to start with the fixed cost of a flight. The average one-way fare is about RM300<\/a> or higher as the date draws closer.<\/p>\n

Another added cost that you’d want to consider is the land travel cost. Due to the fact that the whole of East Malaysia only has three International Airports, you might have to take a bus from the airport to your hometown. The bus trip can cost up to RM75 one way. This brings the minimum cost close to RM800 for the return trip<\/a> in travelling expenses alone!<\/p>\n

Even for a salaried executive, that additional RM800 is a big hole in the monthly budget so imagine how costly it will be for a student who is still in university or young graduates who have just started working.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Resources to help you go back and vote<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

While it can be expensive for you to go back and vote, what are your alternatives? Don\u2019t worry, because of the goodwill and the sense of community among Malaysians, there are several initiatives that can help you go back to your hometown to vote.<\/span><\/p>\n