MEDIA STATEMENT
New postal rates: Minister is confused as well
It is obvious that he himself is not very clear what the problem is. He merely states what has been repeated in the newspaper on 16 February when announcing the new postal rates and reveals nothing new to throw light on the problem. He states "the 30 sen postage would remain for standard letters which met the requirements of the new classification. He doesn't say why that classification insists that the envelope has to be "non-glossy paper of white colour" to be considered as standard mail. Why can't the cheaper brown envelopes of similar size be accepted as standard mail? Why was the cheaper "printed matter" category discontinued? Why are "open-ended" postal wrappers/jackets no longer acceptable for printed matter? If he cares to know the truth, it is not only the public that is confused. The postal staff are equally confused. We were told by a certain postal staff that a briefing was held for 400 members of the postal staff on 22 February at Kepala Batas - six days before the implementation date on 1 March. According to him, even the experts who came to brief them were unable to answer the questions raised or provide satisfactory clarification. Shaziman does not understand the problem. He states that "companies have until May 31 to clear their old stock of personalised envelopes." Please support our work by buying a copy of our print publication, Aliran Monthly, from your nearest news-stand. Better still take out a subscription now. If you prefer to read our web-based edition, please support our work and make a donation. Is he really unaware that companies, unions, co-operatives, consumer bodies, environmental groups and NGOs print personalised envelopes in bulk to last them two to three years. It is cheaper to print in bulk. How do they clear their stock by 31 May? Aliran for example has 40,000 open-ended wrappers to despatch the Aliran Monthly. It is impossible for us to clear the stock by 31 May. Why should we be forced to discard this stock? Will Pos Malaysia compensate us for this? We have raised many other questions and highlighted problems in our Letter to the Editor dated 2 March 2005. This letter would have been helpful to the authorities in understanding the problems posed by the new postal hikes and perhaps would have been useful in tackling those problems. But unfortunately, the media - including 'The People's Paper' - did not bother to carry this letter. It would appear that they are not interested in highlighting the people's problems. The full letter will appear in the next issue of the Aliran Monthly. Why did the government allow Pos Malaysia to rush through this so hastily? This cannot be the work of a caring government - or can it? Malaysians deserve honest answers. P Ramakrishnan President 12 April 2005
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