Monday, September 14, 2009

unbelievably efficient

not a lot of people like to deal with govt departments, which are traditionally perceived to be inefficient & loaded with red-tape bureaucracy, as well as for the indifferent & lackadaisical attitude of their staff. what more during the fasting month!

unless, of course, you are giving them money.

i'm sure i'm not the only one singing praises for the passport section of the immigration dept. went over just after 3pm today to renew my passport.

filled the form, got a queue number, submitted the form & made payment, all within 15mins of reaching there.

then waited for about an hour & voila....a new passport!

BUT, i'd only be convinced that they're truly efficient when they are prompt in returning some of my money - like 2007's tax refund!

19 comments:

msforty5 said...

with the soon to be introduced
RM100 passport fee, the Q will probably be longer.. more affordable

wenn said...

normally lots of ppl during the holidays..

doc said...

ms45,

i think this new passport for infrequent travellers will be a hit even with FREQUENT travellers.

when they use up the 32 pages in 2 years, they just renew it for another rm100. if they had the regular 32-page rm300 one, once they use up the pages, they have to renew it for rm300!!

doc said...

Wenn,

yeah, that's why i chose to do it on a week day.

Reanaclaire said...

really? going to reduce to 100rm only? new news to me.. haha..wow.. hope it will be soon cos my passport expiring next year..

doc said...

Claire,

rm100 for 2-year 32-page passport will surely be a hit! even frequent travellers will apply for one.

available from Oct 1st.

ilene said...

So you see, Malaysia BOLEH kan? Undoubtedly! Wish more government departments could follow such efficiency.

doc said...

Ilene,

try getting something from them, like approval for license, & they'll drag their feet. UNLESS of course, some transaction goes on below the counter. heh heh.

Unknown said...

Hey,

If you can have more states come under PR, then many more gov agencies will be lagi efficient.

To be frank, here in Penang, we are very happy and proud of our current state government...

next round,i will we will still keep them

Anonymous said...

i was told about rm100 paspost recently. that's a good news!

suituapui said...

So far I find that the service at govt depts has improved a great deal - here at least, don't really know elsewhere. Fast, efficient and very friendly too!!!

suituapui said...

P.S.
2007 tax refund not received? We get a letter informing us that we have overpaid...and not too long after that, the cheque - all within the same year!!!

Jo said...

We went last Dec for the three kids. Considering it was the school holiday and the immigration was super packed, we managed to get the three books within the same day. Submitted in the mid-morning, got them back after lunch. Very impressively efficient, and I wonder if it had to do with Badawi's visit during his first few months in office?

The EPF is another very efficient department.

As for the other govt depts.... no comment. :)

doc said...

Eugene,

no doubt the states governed for the 1st time by PR have been given a fresh lease, but i think only penang & kelantan will safely see thru to the next election - the other 2 look a tad shaky.

doc said...

JG,

according to news reports, the rm100 passport will be available from Oct 1.

doc said...

STP,

the police gets a thumbs-down from me. when my father passed away, it was such a real hassle to get the death cert; in the end, the undertaker sorted that out for me (without any police examination of the body)

with regards to tax refunds, perhaps the IRB is biased towards govt workers & retirees??

doc said...

Jo,

looks like the immigration dept has done a fine job of late. perhaps that was one good thing that came out of Badawi's admin!!

before you praise the EPF, do check that your beneficiary records are in order. i heard that a few people found that their nominees have been deleted from record, which means that the govt gets to keep their EPF when they pass on.

Yan said...

Yes, I like the speedy works of immigration department in my hometown too, whether for passport renewals or for work permit for my maid!

When praise is due, we just have to sing praises of their services!

I definitely like the idea of RM100 two-year passport! Talking of that, due for a trip to Singapore, my passport's expiry date? Don't know! Gosh!

doc said...

Yan,

don't take the risk - renew it because it can be done in a few hours.