Pos Malaysia

Early postal services

The history of Pos Malaysia can be traced back to the early 1800s in the Straits Settlements with the establishment of postal services in Penang, Malacca and Singapore before expanding through the rest of Malaya by the early 20th century. Letters were then conveyed through dispatch riders or special messengers. Instead of postage stamps, fees were collected when letters were handed in at the Post Office. Letters posted were given a receipt.

The Federated Malay States Posts and Telegraphs Department was formally established on 1 January 1905 with the merger of postal and telegraph services of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Pahang.

Postal services in the five Unfederated Malay States of Johor (1876), Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu were individually established from 1876 until 1910 (The latter four were transferred from Siamese Administration). The Malayan Postal Union was established in 1935 that instituted universal postage rates for the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements.

Post War Reforms

During the Second World War, The Japanese Forces took control of the postal services under the Dai Nippon Postal Administration. Few years before the end of the War, jurisdiction of the four northern Malay States were transferred to the Thai Postal Administration. After the Japanese Occupation, the Unfederated Malay States were admitted to the Union. The Malayan Postal Union Agreement was revised and reissued in 1949, as the Postal Union of Malaya Agreement covering the Federation of Malaya and Singapore.

The union also started as a medium for the transmission of letters, newspapers, and business documents. The postal service soon evolved into a multiple services provider. It began to venture into parcel delivery, registrations, insurance service, transaction of money (postal order & money order), and investment of funds through the formation of the Post Office Savings Bank (Malay: Bank Simpanan Pejabat Pos).

The postal service, then known as the Malayan Postal Services Department (Malay: Jabatan Perkhidmatan Pos Tanah Melayu) after the independence of Malaya in 1957, also began to take over numerous services on behalf of the Government departments after the Second World War. It started to collect payment of electricity bills in 1946, sale of dog licences in 1949, payment of pensions in 1953, sale of highway code booklet from transport department in 1960 and the sale of television licence in 1964 and others.

Following the establishment of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, Malayan Postal Service was combined with those from Sabah (inherited from North Borneo since 1883), Sarawak (established in 1869) and Singapore under the newly formed Malaysian Postal Service Department, although Singapore's Postal Service would later separate again on 1966, a year after it gained independence when the newly established City State government took control from the Malaysian Federal Government.

Separation of Savings Bank Division

By the 1960s, the deposit in the Post Office Savings Banks suffered a decline due to rise of Commercial Bankings in urban areas. To ensure their relevance and competitiveness, the federal government (with the help of the Central Bank of Malaysia) decided to establish a new institution - the National Savings Bank (NSB) to replace the Post Office Savings Bank. Bank Simpanan Nasional was then incorporated on 1 December 1974 under the Bank Simpanan Nasional Act 1974, and the Savings Function was spun off from the Malaysian Postal Service Department. While the new branch offices of the national savings bank were only established sometime in the 1980s, the post office was continuing to perform its old savings collection functions, such as accepting deposits on behalf of the National Savings Bank only in rural areas and savings deposits in areas where no ATM facilities existed.

Postal and courier

Postal and courier services is the principal activity of Pos Malaysia. It is the sole provider of mail services in Malaysia in accordance to the national universal postal service mandate under Postal Services Act 2012. The company provides postal services through brands such as Pos Mel and Pos Laju.

Pos Mel

Pos Mel is the postal arm of the firm, its services range from air mail, surface mail, standard mail, non-standard mail, postcards, registered mail and Mel Rakyat, a complimentary aerogramme provided for domestic non-commercial use.

Pos Laju

In 1986, Pos Malaysia began introducing Expedited Mail Service (EMS) to international destinations. By 1988, the national postal service introduced Pos Laju as their domestic Courier, Express and Parcel Services arm. Pos Laju maintains the widest courier network in the country, supported by more than 600 post offices nationwide. Pos Laju utilises Integrated Parcel Centres such as in the National Mail Centre, Shah Alam and Pos Malaysia International Hub, KLIA. Attempts were made to unbundle Pos Laju's international services through the launching of Redly Express. However it was short-lived when international services were remerged under one brand, Pos Laju.

Pos Laju offers next-day delivery, express and economy sea shipping through Pos Laju Standard, International Express, International Economy Air Parcel, and Domestic Sea Parcel Service for East Malaysia.