And now they are increasing the price of postage ..... from 30 sen to 60 sen (such a big jump).
And who is increasing the postage rate - it is none other than the UMNO-led BN government under the premiership of Najib - but it is smartly reported as though it is Pos Malaysia Berhad that is increasing prices (not the government...mmm).
Postal services is another service that must be provided by the government - and, it should always be kept low (being the cheapest form of communication). But alas, the UMNO-led BN government is only interested in increasing income - not the welfare of the people.
I am sure that our postal rates went up some years back - and, I believe that it certainly is not true that there has been no increase of postal rates since 1992.
Has the government lost control with regard the determination of postal rates - Is it now for some 'private company' to set the postal rates. It is not the Minister who is telling us about the rise in postal rates - but the CEO of a company.
We really need a change of government in Malaysia - we need a government which will take back control with regard to basic amenities like electricity, water, postal services, communications, roads, public transport,...
KUALA LUMPUR: The price of domestic postage stamps will be higher effective this July as part of Pos Malaysia Bhd's strategy to improve its productivity and efficiency.
This will be the first time for Pos Malaysia to revise the price since its corporatisation in 1992, the company said in a statement here today.
Its Group managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar said the increase would provide additional funds for them to provide better quality of service at par with international best practices.
"Over the past 18 years, we have witnessed continuous decline in public mail volume and Pos Malaysia has taken various measures to contain costs whilst maintaining our productivity," he said.
At the same time, this has affected the company's ability to adjust the low salaries of its postmen and counter clerks which is 19 per cent lower than their government counterparts, he added.
"The restructuring of the salary for postmen and counter clerks will be done concurrently with the increase in the price for domestic postage stamps," said Syed Faisal.
The restructuring of the salaries would be a positive morale boost for the operations staff in line with its move to improve their productivity and commitment towards providing better quality of service.
Upon implementation, the price for domestic postage stamps for standard mail weighing up to 20 grams will be revised from 30 sen to 60 sen and for up to 50 grams, it will be revised from 40 sen to 70 sen.
The increase in price would also involve standard mail below 50 grams, non- standard mail below 100 grams, periodicals, PosDokumen, registered mail and parcels below two kilogrammes.
However, the increase is not applicable for non-standard mail above 100 grams up to two kilogrammes, PO Box, locked bag and window delivery.
Currently, Pos Malaysia's domestic postage stamp (30 sen for standard mail weighing up to 20 grams) is the second lowest in Asean after Thailand.
Comparatively, among Asean countries, the Philippines' domestic postage stamp price (at the same weight step) is the highest at 66 sen, followed by Singapore (62 sen), Indonesia (54 sen) and Brunei (47 sen).
Meanwhile, in line with the Government's 1Malaysia aspiration, Pos Malaysia will introduce Mel Rakyat in May to address the needs of the people who would still prefer to use postal service at a lower price.
Mel Rakyat, which is similar to Aerogramme in its form and function, will be also priced at a single rate of 30 sen for postage to anywhere within Malaysia.
With Mel Rakyat, the individual customers who make up nine per cent of Pos Malaysia's total mail volume, can still have the option of enjoying a lower postage rate for their domestic mail needs. - Bernama- New Straits Times, 6/4/2010, Stamp prices will be higher effective July 1
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3 comments:
I think Pos Malaysia had made an excellent decision. Malaysian postage rate had been too low for a long time. This is not healthy as this will fuel the addiction of subsidy mindset of Malaysian. The postmen and staff had been given salary scale below the poverty line and it's time for them to get a better salary scale.
Double the postage rate WILL NOT affect the public because our communication channels had changed compare to 20 years ago. Majority of the communication is now done through email, SMS or just phone calls.
So there is not much to be complained about in this case.
I totally agree with nckeat88. Malaysian postmen and staff have been given a low salary for far too long. The higher postage prices would reflect Malaysia's aspiration in achieving the goals of the NEM. How are we going to reach a high income nation with such low cost services, and even lower paid workers?
As for the postal rates going up some years back, it actually has been 18 years since an increase in postal rates!
As long as services are not compromised, I feel that it is a fair deal for all of us. Besides we do not use postal services as much as we used to and hopefully the services provided should reflect the price we pay.
I think this is the right step towards the modernization of postal services.
We seem to have short memory. When Pos Malaysia Bhd increased its rates the last time, the reason was because of new equipment costing over Rm200 million which could sort mail faster but involved addresses to be printed or almost like printed if handwritten, without pre-printed addresses of sender, etc.
Now, they are giving another set of reasons. We all know our workers' pay cannot be compared with other countries but we are staring at expensive equipment and other high capital expenditures (eg. our Batu Gajah PO building looks grand with all the steps leading to it with narry a thought given to old folks and disabled), without raising efficiency and productivity for this state of affairs.
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