KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — The heartrending story of a mailman working for Pos Malaysia, the country’s oldest and largest postal services company, who revealed that he and his colleagues may not be getting their annual bonus this year has shocked and angered members of the public.
Aisyah Humairah, in a string of tweets on her account @aisyah9009 on Sunday (17 May), said that it began when the postman who delivered letters and some parcels she ordered online received a call afterwards.
“After the call ended, he sat down in his wet clothes looking pensive … It was raining heavily, and I saw him looking sad.
“I felt shy to ask him [about it] at first as I thought he had just gone through a break-up or something, so I asked my younger sibling to ask him why he looked sad.
“At first, he said it was nothing, but after two or three times [of being asked the same question], he finally said that his friend had called him to tell him that they will not be getting any bonuses this year,” she wrote.
aku segan nak tanya sebab aku ingat dia baru putus cinta ka apa kan,so aku suruh adik aku tanya dia kenapa muka nampak sedih,mulanya dia kata x ada apa-apa lah,bila ditanya dua tiga kali akhirnya dia jawab,dia kata kawan dia call tadi bagitau tahun ni dorang x ada bonus. pic.twitter.com/ynzblt6otw
— Aisyah Humairah (@aisyah9009) May 16, 2020
“He said that something like this has never happened before. He received RM1000 last year, but this year he will get none. He said the workload has increased but there is no bonus … He choked up while saying it and cried his manly tears. He was really hoping to get the bonus,” Ms Aisyah added.
Malaysian netizens expressed their dismay at Ms Aisyah’s story, as it is widely known during this period that many businesses have resorted to mailing their goods via popular courier services–one of which is PosLaju under Pos Malaysia–which would mean an increased workload for the postmen and increased profits for the company.
“Delivery services like Pos Malaysia is the backbones making our country function well, during the #COVID19 due to the #MCO.
“The frontliners such as the postmen who have given their best deserve due recognition from the management just like the government servants,” said financial management consultant Razali Ahmed, in a tweet directed to Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz yesterday.
Delivery services like Pos Malaysia is the backbones making our country function well, during the #COVID19 due to the #MCO. The frontliners such as the postmen who have given their best deserve due recognition from the management just like the government servants @tzafrul_aziz
— Razali Ahmed (@razmalai1) May 17, 2020
“I don’t know how to say this. If postmen have to deliver this many goods, then you can guess how much profit Pos Malaysia is making. Multiple folds. And yet they still do not want to give bonuses to the postmen.
“They work to the point of death. Top management barely does anything but rake in tens of thousands’ worth of salaries [per month]. Bottom rung [of the organisation] gets below RM2,000,” said user @NanaNonet.
Tak tau nak cakap mcm mana. Kalau dah barang banyak mcm ni, tau2 la keuntungan Pos Malaysia ni dpt berapa. Berlipat kali ganda kot. Tp still tak nak bg bonus kat posmen. Diorg kerja bagai nak mati kot. Yg atas goyang tangan dpt gaji puluh2 ribu. Gaji org bawah tak sampai 2k. pic.twitter.com/GC2LsUTIjW
— Nanonunine (@NanaNonet) May 17, 2020
“Profits have grown larger, but staff members do not get bonuses this year. It’s too obvious that since the PKP [Movement Control Order] was implemented, profits have risen.
“You do not want to increase staffing, and now you don’t want to give bonuses this year? How cruel. It’s Ramadhan, how could you do that to your workers?” questioned user @atieraraa.
@pos4you SHAME ON YOU. Untung makin besar, tp pekerja tk dpt bonus tahun ni. It’s too obvious yg semenjak pkp, untung makin naik kan. Dgn taknak tambah staff & now tiba2 bonus pun taknak bg tahun ni? Kejam nyaaa ???? Dah lah ni bulan Ramadhan, sanggup eh buat kt pekerja2 mcmtu?
— Tiera ???? | Hennaline (@atieraraa) May 17, 2020
User @Saphiraz08 said that buying company shares and exercising shareholder rights will play a part in pushing Pos Malaysia to address the matter.
@aisyah9009 I strongly suggest you go to bursa malaysia website and read pos malaysia annual report. Then you have an understanding what went wrong.
If you want to help those posmen. I suggest you buy the company share and exercise your right as shareholder
— NazAmin (@Saphiraz08) May 17, 2020
User @syeripp urged postmen to “go on strike and rebel” against Pos Malaysia regarding the issue.
Aku takdak pesanan yg baik. Satu ja. Workers pos man kena go on strike and rebel. Welfare tak terjaga langsung. Go on strike
— Musyrif Kamsani (@syeripp) May 17, 2020
Following Ms Aisyah’s account of the postman’s predicament, responses to her tweets, and other stories regarding postmen working under the Malaysian national courier, “Pos Malaysia” topped the list of trending keywords in Malaysia as of 6.30 am on Monday (18 May).
A petition urging Pos Malaysia to give their mailmen their yearly bonuses this year has garnered 1,885 signatures out of its target of 2,500 as of 6.22am today.
“They have been working very hard to try to deliver every piece of mail and package especially with the increase in online shopping during the MCO.
“They’re working beyond the required hours and it’s been doubly hard for them in the last three weeks especially due to the Ramadan month,” the petition’s statement read.
A postman working for Pos Malaysia who did not want to be named, when asked about the matter, confirmed that he and his colleagues will not be getting their annual bonus this year.
He told TOC on Monday afternoon that the reason cited was the “business and system” being “down” even prior to the MCO and as early as the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia.
“When they told us about it, I can only redha (relent and leave it up to God),” he lamented.
Two years ago, Pos Malaysia sparked a furore among members of the public after it posted a job posting for postmen, couriers, and van and lorry drivers offering a monthly pay of RM 1,300.
Twitter user @datukhensem highlighted that in contrast last year, the postal services company spent RM 989,577.21 for its board of directors’ fees and allowance, with one of the senior management staff member getting a total yearly income averaging from RM 1.15 million to RM 1.2 million.
Tahun 2019 Pos Malaysia membelanjakan sebanyak RM989,577.21 untuk membayar fee dan elaun ahli lembaga pengarah mereka.
Selain itu, ada seorang senior management di Pos Malaysia mendapat pendapatan(gaji, bonus, elaun etc) lebih kurang RM1.15 -RM1.2 juta setahun. pic.twitter.com/bAkiCKFF9m
— Datuk Jahat Hensem (@datukhensem) May 17, 2020
TOC has reached out to Pos Malaysia for comments and will include their response when they reply.
Article edited on Monday (18 May) at 1.24pm to include comments from a Pos Malaysia mailman who spoke to TOC.
