NPCIL to draft plan to strengthen postal, courier industry — Saifuddin

PUTRAJAYA: The three-week National Postal and Courier Industry Laboratory (NPCIL) commenced yesterday until Dec 4 to formulate a new action plan to strengthen the industry so that it will continue to be viable and provide quality services for all clients.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the NPCIL, run by the

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), would examine the framework in terms of industry governance, regulatory approach, operational efficiency, service cooperation and customer experience.

He said the laboratory also sees participation of representatives from his ministry, MCMC and other related agencies, as well as key industry players.

“The full report is expected to be completed by the third week of December 2020,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Saifuddin said that he was confident that the approach would provide direction towards strengthening the postal and courier industry for the benefit of the people and as an important component in the development of the digital economy.

“The postal and courier services industry has been the backbone of delivery and communications services for a long time. Due to technological advances and Covid-19 pandemic, online services such as e-commerce, gig economy and financial transaction systems have increased significantly and are now becoming a major part of the way of life of the community,” he said.

In the first half of 2020, during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO), the total number of letters and parcels jumped to 160 million, an increase of 10 per cent compared with the same period last year, he said.

The increase prompted licensed companies such as Pos Malaysia Bhd to hire 1,400 parttime employees, known as Pos Riders, to assist the delivery process.