Be people friendly, Customs staff told

0

Ahmad (centre) leading the invited guests and staff and officers in chanting the ‘1Malaysia 1Customs’ slogan.

MIRI: Officers and staff of Royal Malaysia Customs Department have been reminded to be people friendly.

Such attitude, Deputy Minister of Finance Datuk Ahmad Maslan reminded them, will enable more effective and smooth implementation and delivery of their service.

“We must be more people friendly and not be rigid in out approaches so that people will not be so ‘scared’ of us. While enforcing the law and regulation we must present friendly attitude and atmosphere to people who are our clients,” he said during a visit to the department’s new building here yesterday.

In this regard, the deputy minister advised them to know and practise good customer relations.

Earlier before the start of the function, he noted that reporters covering his visit were standing at a corner as all seats in the small area had been occupied.

He then immediately approached his personal assistant and asked the department to bring out extra chairs for the reporters to sit.

“This is among the good customer relations practices we should know. I don’t blame anyone and the department over this. They might have overlooked and did not expect a big number of reporters coming to cover my visit here,” said Ahmad.

“If we leave them standing throughout the function, although they will still do the news it will be small and published on page 32 which people don’t even bother to read,” he said in lighter note.

Admiring the approaches made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Indonesian president Joko Widodo in getting to know the people and getting feedback and to know their aspirations or needs including problems, Ahmad reminded them to go down to the ground.

“Go down to the ground and interact with the people to get feedback and to know their needs and problems. This will make us look people-friendly and approachable. We must admit that our department is not very ‘famous’ as no will come and approach us unless they have some business deal with us,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ahmad reminded consumers to exercise their rights by lodging reports including boycotting premises indulging in malpractices such as increasing prices of goods and services after the implementation of GST.

“Not many are aware that they are paying 15 per cent more for goods under the current Services and Sales Tax compared to six per cent under Goods and Services Tax (GST). They are not aware that what they are paying will be given back to the people in various ways and means,” said Ahmad.

He also reminded the people not be taken for a ride by the opposition who claimed that the GST would be a burden and not benefit them.

Mayor Lawrence Lai and the department’s Miri chief Hasimah Semuli were among those present.