Postage Going Up...

Come July, domestic postage rates will be going up 100%. Pos Malaysia says they need the increase. But like every monopoly in Bolehland, you've to listen to their reasons with many pinches of salt.

Personal snail mail is on its way to the grave. Letter writing is probably a dying art anyway. A new way of communicating and lingo has sprouted via MSN, FB, Skype, etc.... But parcel and courier services are picking up. Thanks to the internet, online shopping probably makes up for the lost business in the ordinary man's snail mail.

So are Pos Malaysia's days numbered? I was reading the BM version (here) and the English version (here).

Excerpt from mStar Online
Pengarah Urusan/Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulannya, Datuk Syed Faisal Albar berkata, kenaikan itu akan memberikan dana tambahan bagi Pos Malaysia menyediakan perkhidmatan yang lebih berkualiti, setara dengan amalan terbaik antarabangsa.

"Penstrukturan semula gaji posmen dan kerani kaunter akan dilakukan serentak dengan kenaikan harga setem pos domestik," kata Syed Faisal.

Excerpt From mStar Online
He assured the public that Pos Malaysia would continue to seek ways to improve efficiency and enhance its standard of service and reliability.

And this is another report regarding their P & L for 2009. They actually made profit after a loss in 2008. But in March this year, Pos Malaysia reported that they had failed to meet their revenue KPI by 4%... they are still making profit. Is this the reason for the increase? Most people think the increase is okay. But the ripple effect should be felt soon enough.

Pos Malaysia is a privatised monopoly and also a GLC. So when rates are raised despite a profit, one can't help but wonder whether it is justifiable to pass the buck of salary costs to the public? Where did the profit go?

Anyway, this is not the first time they've increased postal rates. Read this 2005 account from Aliran. Our postal rates are low, but 100% increase?

And this.... I took this one afternoon at the Main Post Office in Alor Setar. So much for world class efficiency. This was a post box inside the Main Post Office that had its door left opened with its contents spilling out. Unsuspecting people who slid their letters in from the outside did not realize that their letters were swishing onto the floor right to the waiting area where I was sitting.

I stared at one of the envelopes at my feet before deciding that I'd better let the people there know that letters were starting to get under our chairs! This is where things got funny. I had to go to great lengths to explain to the girl that the mailbox (which was less than 10 meters away) had its door opened and letters were strewn all over. She didn't understand. In exasperation, I told her to just follow me. She did so very hesitantly, as though it wasn't her job and she was just doing me a favour. *roll eyes*

And guess what? When I finally showed her, she just stood there not knowing what to do. She should have just pushed the letters back into the mailbox and shut the door. Instead, after a momentary wax-doll performance, she walked to her counter and told another guy. The guy and came back and pushed the letters in, closed the door. The lock had actually been pried out and there was a gaping hole. They didn't do anything about securing the door properly. Anyone could just go over and take any letter they want. No wonder letters never get to their destinations sometimes.

Well, I supposed maybe that's why they need to raise the postage... so that they can get their act together and be world class.