The Urban Transformation Center (UTC) which provides a host of
public services conveniently in a one-stop center in the heart of the city, is
truly a boon to the public.
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| Facade of the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) viewed from Jalan Duke, Johor Baru |
The RTD had regulated the expiry dates of driving licenses to
fall on the holder’s birthday to remind them that it was time for its renewal
and with my birthday just a few days away, I went to Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan, the Road Transport Department (RTD) branch
in the UTC at Galleria Kotaraya to renew my license.
In spite of the crowd there, I made a beeline for the uniformed
staff standing next to the docket machine and told him I wanted to renew my
driving license.
His questions were brief: “Ada
IC? Ada lesen?” Translation: “Have Identity Card? Have old license?” to
which I answered, just as briefly, “Ada”
meaning, “I have.”
He responded by pressing the button on the machine and passed me
a docket number. A glance showed the time printed was just before 12 noon. So I
prepared my Identity Card and old driving license and sat down, ready for a
long wait.
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| My docket number at the branch of the Road Transport Department in the UTC |
As the number-counter moved forward quite quickly, I was
pleasantly surprised at the speed at which each transaction was completed for
the 34 dockets ahead of me.
I was pleasantly surprised that in less than 30 minutes, I was
holding my renewed driving license and walking out the door!
While I had a relatively smooth experience, it was not the same
for my sister who went to the UTC in an attempt to change the names on her
utility bills from that of her late husband to her own.
She went to the UTC armed with multiple photocopies of her
husband’s death certificate to present to each utility company as the basis for
the name change and soon discovered that it was not the one-stop center for
this particular procedure.
She was instead, advised to go to each individual utility company
to complete this process.
I had the privilege of accompanying my sister on this quest and
it was an eye-opening adventure where we experienced how our public services
were still sadly lacking.
To be fair, our experience with Telekom Malaysia, the telephone company, was handled with
compassion and efficiency at Kedai
Telekom. And the procedure was completed without a hitch.
My
sister, who had earlier gone to the Tenaga
Nasional Berhad (TNB) or National Electricity Company outlet at UTC for
this name-change process, was given a set of forms to complete but the staff was not only vague in his instructions, he was
also impatient. She was also told to go to the main TNB office for this
transaction.
With forms completed, we arrived at the main TNB office at Jalan
Yahya Awal and saw a queue in front of the Information and Enquiries counter.
 |
| Entrance to the One-Stop service center at the Johor Baru City Council building |
Instead of just joining the queue, I asked the staff if it was
the queue to join because we already had completed the forms for the
name-change procedure. She insisted that we must join the queue for them to
check if the forms were completed correctly.
Only one staff was dealing with each enquiry and in the next few
minutes, the expanding queue was blocking the main door. As there was no room
for a straight line, the long queue had to snake to the side!
When it was finally my sister’s turn, I could understand her
exasperation as the staff told her that she should do this transaction at the
UTC. But (she told them) their staff at UTC had instructed my sister to complete
the forms and come to the TNB main office!
When this staff explained how these documents would require
Revenue Stamping, which should be done at the UTC, we had no alternative but to
head back to the UTC.
I did the driving and we were back in the UTC again. But we
imagined how challenging it would be for customers who depended on public
transport and the heartache, extra time and expense incurred for this
run-around!
 |
| The long and quickly expanding queue at the entrance of the Tenaga Nasional Berhad main building at Jalan Yahya Awal, Johor Baru |
Back at the TNB outlet in the UTC, we had the misfortune of
encountering a staff who was not only unsympathetic but also tactless.
We had already shuttled between the stamping office and the TNB
outlet because we were unsure which part of the procedure should be done first.
But finally this transaction was completed.
At Syarikat Ayer Johor
(SAJ) or the Johor Water Company, my sister was put through yet another
humiliating experience.
The authorities should make a list of requirements and attach it
to the forms to be completed for each transaction. This list would be a helpful
reference for customers to come with the complete list of requirements and not
be subjected to running back and forth getting documents or details like the
last meter-reading!
I observed the conversation between the staff and my sister and
saw something was amiss. I didn’t have long to guess what was happening because
the staff raised his voice, quite adamant that he could not help if she did not
provide the last meter-reading.
If only there was a list of requirements provided, the customer
– in this case, my sister who is a widow – need not suffer further heartache.
So we had no alternative but to drive home to read the meter and submit the
reading to them before this process could proceed.
As advised, we returned to the main SAJ office at Jalan Garuda.
My sister was hopeful she should be able to complete this transaction smoothly
here. But she again disappointed.
This process included closing the previous account in her late
husband’s name but they were adamant that she produced her marriage certificate
before they would refund the deposit to her. Tired with the day’s run-around,
she appealed to the staff to accept her word but to no avail.
So once again, I drove my sister home to get her marriage
certificate as proof before she received the deposit refund of a measly RM41.45!
A version of this was published in the November 2017 issue of The Iskandarian
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