Straw poll: Shorter UTC hours an inconvenience

A straw poll by Malaysiakini suggests that public reaction to Putrajaya's decision to reduce operating hours of Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) is mostly negative.

The poll recorded virtually the same responses between Shah Alam UTC staff, traders and patrons.

One staff, Emy Nooraqiera Natasha (photo above), 19, said she would agree with the move as a staff but would disagree with it if she was a UTC customer.

"I feel sorry for customers who will now have to take a day off from work (for example) just to renew their passport.

"It would be better if they could finish their work then tend to affairs such as renewing their passport without having to take a day off from work," she said.

Retailer Farah Nuraishah Maarof (photo below), 22, said she objected to the new hours because of the inconvenience it would cause, especially to those like her who worked weekends.

"I do not agree. We are retailers. We work on weekends. We only have time in the evenings. If the UTC closes at 7pm (instead of 10pm like previously), we won't (be able to) make it.

"It is the same for those who work office hours. They will now choose weekends (to visit the UTC) and this will cause congestion on those days," she told Malaysiakini while waiting to have her passport renewed.

Craftsman Jeffri Yaacob (photo above), 52, concurred, stating that he may only get to visit the UTC on weekends in the future.

However, one patron, Asmawie Tormodi (photo below), 43, said the move was perhaps understandable given that he has seen very few customers at night at the UTC.

He said if the government's intention was to reduce cost, save on human resources and simplify government services, then he would support the move.

One method of increasing efficiency, said Asmawie, was to increase the number of counters when the new operating hours were implemented.

'Close them down'

Lorry driver Murphy Peter Lowe (photo below), 43, said he will not be affected by the shorter UTC operating hours because his visits to the facility were rare.

"I come here, maybe once a month. It doesn't matter [...] even if they close at 7pm, we can't do anything," he said.

The UTC was established during the Najib Abdul Razak administration as a one-stop centre for various common government services with operating hours set from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week.

In a circular issued early this week by Treasury secretary-general Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir, it was explained that only 11 percent of UTC customers turn up after 7pm and therefore the government had decided to shorten their operating hours to save on cost.

Najib had baulked at the new operating hours and suggested that Putrajaya close the UTCs altogether.

There are 14 UTCs located throughout the country and the new operating hours take effect from Jan 1 next year. - Mkini