No, there has not been any such nonsense. The title is but a dream of almost every tax payer.
We wrote a letter to the Kastam DiRaja Malaysia way back on 16 November 2005, complaining that the Land Office refuses to pay the service tax for professional fees which the latter had to pay us. The LO claimed they were exempted from paying such taxes. And on our side, we had to account for service tax when we raised our invoices.
So, being the good citizen wanting to abide by the law, we wrote in to the Kastam, asking for clarification and guidance. We had hoped that they would actually write a letter to the LO directing them to pay the taxes. One other friend in another company had written in at about the same time regarding this matter.
As usual, such things take a long time to see the light of day.
Late June, I enquired from the secretary to investigate why there was no reply forthcoming. Surprise! surprise! Kastam said they had replied to that other friend of ours, and thought it fit that there was no need to reply to our letter. KNNCB!
And so we insisted on a reply. This morning the reply comes. Why am I not surprised.
The letter merely stated serice tax is is payable for certain businesses and professions. And that theres concerns were to tax their customers. They requested us to call them if we had any doubts.
What the f$## lah. We ask a simple question and they tell us the known obvious facts. So its a wild goose chase again.
On another front, sicko had posted about our Tourism Minister's statement on the need to have more nightlife, longer opening hours etc. Reading from the Star page, its stated that he wanted more action to repaint and improve on infrastructure.
The way i see it, this country will forever be in a predicament. The need to balance religious sensitivities and short sighted/extremist views, against the need for foreign investment and tourism dollars. On one hand they spend millions asking people to invest and/or visit our country.
On the other hand, the red tape is a killer. Even after the top indian IT firm told off our number two this being the major obstacle which made them decide to set up a hub at another country, instead of here, things have not changed for the better. A foreign investor is never made to feel welcome. The tax payers themselves are treated badly. For foreigners to get a PR too will be next to impossible, unless youre a manual labourer from our neighbouring country, and of a certain religion I guess. The brilliant and/or rich ones from elsewhere will be treated like dirt. People apply for years and dont even get a reply. A potential con from across gets it or even an IC within months. I digress.
They spend millions trying to get tourists to come here, and the moment they touch down at the airports, the front line people will make life miserable for the tourists.
I was at JPJ Johor yesterday, at around 1220pm. To pay a summons. Was at the counter. By 1230 the lady had printed out something, but said the payment counter had closed at 1230pm and i had to return after 2pm if i wished to settle. What the !@#$!. This is basic customer service. Your citizens can only do such things in their free time, lunch time or days off. There are so many officers within such departments, and a few counters. Why cant they rotate staff working outs to ensure service is extended during lunch time? Surely we dont need to engage a harvard consultant to tell the government this???
Almost every government department practices the same outdated and ridiculous systems. I guess only Pos Malaysia opens its counters during lunch time.
Recently the Immigration Department got some publicity too. Major rush for passports. The director had the cheek to ask members of public who knew runners selling application forms at higher prices to complain to the department. In the first place the runners are plying their trade just outside his department. Each person entitled to 1 or 2 forms only, and how did the runners obtain stacks of them?
In the midst of all these gloom, all hope is not lost. There still are a minority within who still performs their duties to the best of their abilty and serve the public where they can. We had a need to see someone at the Land Registry here for clarification. This very senior officer took the time to listen and then answer. Very professionally, very politely. If only we had more such people.
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2 comments:
On payment counters of gov't depts:
It has always been a source of wonder to me why they close the counters during lunch time. Makes no sense. Hello? Money is COMING IN! People want to PAY! Why make it difficult?
If they don't want to handle cash during that time, why not swipe a credit card, an ATM card or even a Touch N Go card at the counter?
On the runners at Immigration dept:
My bro did his passport last week and told me that the guy at the counter who was giving out the numbers will print out one for a person in queue and quietly print out another one and slip it in their pocket to sell to runners later. Simple but effective, eh?
Imagine people from out of town who arrived 'late' (perhaps 7.15AM before the counter opens) and joins the queue way back. Wouldn't they pay up to RM500 (so I heard) for a number and forms?
On PR being handed to manual labourers:
I've personally met 2 aspiring applicants, both Muslims. One has several companies, invested more than RM20 million in the country, employs more than 200 M'sians, lived here for more than a decade and has grandchildren born and schooled here. PR application? Rejected.
The other was an Iraqi national with a PhD in Elecrical Engineering who was out of contract at a local uni. Loves the country and the uni and wants to settle down and retire here. Application? Rejected. He went to the the NZ embassy and got PR within a month.
Maual labourer, no qualifications, minimum skills came off the night boat with clove ciggies to sell. Builds house on squatter land and raises a flag with a keris outside. Soon enough he gets a PR and near election, perhaps even citizenship.
i was told by a lawyer the other day, the courts have systemized corruption. There's a menu of 'services' from filing your cases to judgement.
Transparency at work.
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