Why inefficiency reigns at service counters

 

From YS Chan

I felt a sense of déjà vu when reading the report “The long, early morning ‘paper queue’ at KL land office” published today.

Over the past decade, I have witnessed and heard horror accounts of long queues or waiting time at service counters of many government agencies. While inefficiency was usually blamed, there could perhaps be something far more sinister.

More often than not, organised chaos happens by design, more so when it was allowed to continue operating as if by default. A chaotic or challenging situation is likely to trigger those unwilling to wait to pay for shortcuts, with corrupt practices becoming the norm.

An application could be left unattended for long, but processed in no time at all under a special arrangement. If the same efficiency is applied for all requests, waiting time would be minimal and the counters would be devoid of runners who can only thrive at inefficient government agencies.

Mercifully, many of our civil servants are dedicated, honest and efficient, and do not wish to see members of the public suffer needlessly. Most government agencies have grand vision or mission statements, but they remain hollow without good customer service.

Regrettably, some public employees think they are mighty government officials with power to lord over others, instead of being professional civil servants with true self-respect and hence respecting others and treating members of the public as customers.

One of the most accurate barometers in determining whether a country is fully developed, or very much third world is by the service standard accorded at government agencies. The culture at the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Lands and Mines Department is nothing to be proud of.

YS Chan is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.