Typewriters And Transforming Malaysia...

Rocky AKA Ahirudin Attan wr0te about typewriters and government forms in his Thursday Rocky's Bru column in the Malay Mail

Here's an excerpt:

"This is Malaysia and we introduced the Multimedia Super Corridor to the world in the Nineties because we wanted the world to know that we are technology savvy. We told the world, that was fearful of the unknown Internet, the Malaysian government would never censor the Internet. Why? Because we are so ahead of others.

Today, we pay our bills on line, do our banking on the Internet, and check in and out using our mobile phones.

The Najib Administration has introduced entry points and high-income goals to keep with the times. The government pays companies like Myeg.com.my millions to make it convenient for Malaysians to execute transactions, settle bills, etc.

And suddenly you need a typewriter to fill up a form for bringing in a small item into the country?

How ironical can we be?"

I'll have to agree with Rocky.

I mean, what's our excuse? It's not so much filling up forms because some people may not have computers to fill up forms online or the fact that server/internet breakdown occurs ever so frequently, and so forth.
But, insisting that we have to have forms typewritten is ridiculous.

Something's not right here. The leaders saying one thing and the civil servants doing another.

Cross wavelengths, eh?

I think the government should look into this problem.

I know the problem because someone I know is faced with it.

You don't know that it's a problem because you're not faced with it, yet.

I'll tell ya...this is embarrassing.
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Do you know where people are asked to get their forms typed out?

"Pergi cari itu petition writer bawah pokok di luar mahkamah-mahkamah..."

Can you imagine that?

I have fond memories of my good ole Olivetti and Remington. One was "robbed" from me by an armed robber/car hijacker (this is true) way back in 1982 and the other is somewhere in my storeroom at home.

Where it will remain.

So, people in government. Fix this, won't you!

Either, make typewriters widely available in government departments to make it convenient for clients (yes, we are the government's clients) to fill up the forms (tough, almost impossible and nearly crazy measure, this) OR just get rid of the requirement to have those forms typewritten. Duuh!
Be 21st century-lah!

And no, silly. I'm not being petty.