| By Laila Rahman
Dato Paduka Awang Haji Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka
Awang Haji Abu Bakar, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of
Communications, laying the foundation for the Kampong Mentiri
Post Office.
The National Housing Plan of
Kampong Mentiri will soon have its own Post Office. The cost of
building the post office is approximately $358,600.00.
The project commenced on
October 12, 2002 and is due for completion on September 30,
2003. The contractor for this project is Riss Services.
The ceremony for laying the
foundation for Kampong Mentiri Post Office was held yesterday
and was officiated by Dato Paduka Awang Haji Abdullah bin
Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Awang Haji Abu Bakar, the Permanent
Secretary at the Ministry of Communications.
The Kampong Mentiri Post Office
is one of many projects under the 7th National Development Plan
(1996-2000), but could only be implemented in the 8th National
Development Plan (2001-2005). The one storey building will be
situated at Jalan "C", National Housing Plan of
Kampong Mentiri in an area of 0.5581 ha and will be completed in
12 months.
Dato Paduka Awang Haji
Abdullah, in his speech explained that in 2002, the amount of
mail distributed by the postal services department totalled
13,041,110.
He also mentioned that
unfortunately, some of the mail being sent was delayed despite
efforts made by some staff members of the postal services.
He added that problems faced by
the postal services with distribution were due to lack of
co-operation from the public in ensuring that addresses were
legible and addressed appropriately with postal codes.
He further added that without a
record of proof posting it is difficult for the postal services
department to identify senders, which in turn causes many to
complain.
Co-operation is required from
members of the public to ensure that services provided can be
performed smoothly and efficiently.
He advised members of the
public who have problems or inquiries regarding postal services
to go to the information counter at the Mail and Processing
centre in Berakas or call (free): 18-0000-18.
The building of the post office
shows a continuous commitment by His Majesty's government in
providing facilities and upgrading postal services for the
public and in particular for the residents of Kampong Mentiri.
After the completion of this
building, the post office will provide services such as stamp
sales, money post, registered letters, package services, express
mail services, express post, bulk posting, business reply
services, money order, payment of road tax and driving licenses
Class I & III, telephone, water and electricity bill
payments, rental of personal post office boxes and of course the
distribution of letters to the residents of Kampong Mentiri.
The building comprises a
postmaster room, deputy postmaster room, strong room, mail
sorting and delivery area, counters, a prayer room, store room,
kitchen, toilets, loading bay, parking space and garage for
staff.
Furthermore, the building will
provide other facilities such as ATM machines for customers'
convenience in that area.
When the Kampong Mentiri Post
Office is completed, the postal services department will have a
total of 23 offices nation-wide.
This is an initiative made by
the postal services department to provide increased facilities
for the public, continuous efforts are being made by the
department to make the post office a centre for business and
information.
This in turn encourages the
department to become more productive and competitive in the
future.
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