by Mariani binti Abdul Razak
Did you experience waiting so long to be entertained by the service counter? Dealing with rude and snobbish staff? Poor accommodations and closed counter? These are some of the circumstances that might occur when we use or seek for services in the public sector. It may even occur in some private organizations. Others countries also face the same problems and good governance is needed in order to handle the complaints.
Many years back, I had experienced dealing with one agency that had made me wait more than 5 hours. Waiting is torture for me as time would move so slowly and it would make me tired and upset. However, I have no choice besides being patient and wait in order to get my errands done. When asked about the waiting time, the common answer is that “you will be entertained shortly”. The response causes me to become more upset and have the mind-set that the service industry will never change.
Yes, we understand the overload of customers that the public sector has to cater, but it is not an excuse for poor service. Most people will get frustrated when something does not meet their expectations. It becomes worse when the matter is brought upon social media and becomes viral. These days, this is the way people release their frustrations and anger towards something especially anything that involves services given by the public sector. Controlling your anger is a very crucial step to settle the problem in a diplomatic way.
The government has introduced various programmes and initiative to improve the delivery of public service as we are moving forwards to the fourth wave of industrial revolution. Innovation is the main ideology in improvising these services. Our government has a mechanism to handle public complaint in a systematic way. Public Complaint Bureau (PCB) has been given the responsibility and a big role to handle public complaint towards the public sector ministries and agencies (Aziz, 2016). According to (Laporan Tahunan Biro Pengaduan Awam, 2018) stated in year 2017 BPA received 5,386 complaint cases. About 636 complaints or 8.3% is come from ‘Rakyat Responz’ sources. Others come from multiple sources which linkage to BPA agency. Meanwhile breakdown for complaint classification which is 3,232 complaints equal to 60% is complaint against ministries and Federal Agencies. Another 40% equal to 2,154 complaints is against State Government Agencies.
PCB has not missed out on the latest technological advancements. As the public nowadays are moving forward by using technology in their daily lives especially with mobile phones as a gadget for many things such as reminders, calendar, camera, voice recordings and many other features, PCB had put an effort towards their initiative to build a mobile application called ‘Rakyat Responz’ in 2016 and rebranding it to ‘Respons Rakyat’ in 2019 with add on features. This application is also known as RR and can be downloaded on mobile phones via Apple apps Store and Google Store.[WN1] (Kannan & Babulal, 2019).
The Respons Rakyat apps can be download with the link:
What is so special about RR? Will our complaints be entertained? How fast is the response time? Just relax and stay for more input about RR. Many of us are probably not aware of this application within the marketplace and do not know the right channel to lodge a complaint. By using RR, the public can lodge a complaint by just a click on their mobile phones no matter the place or time. It also caters to all public sector agencies.
I would like to share the benefits of this application. RR comes with great functionalities where you can put upload pictures, video recordings and voice notes as an attachment for the complaint. The files that are uploaded become an evidence to the complaint that is made and can be forwarded immediately. This is helpful for the investigation process later on and is used to cancel out fake complaints. The important thing is, this application also allows the complainant to track down the status of their complaints easily the chronology of action and any feedback can be reviewed by the complainant himself through the application. (Kannan & Babulal, 2019)
Nowadays, work process has changed and the public sector are more concerned towards achieving an excellent service for the nation. As I said before, I did not believe that complaints are able to change the public service industry. However today, it is true that our complaint is important and needs to be addressed properly. Complainants can help improve the quality of service by lodging a complaint to make sure the administration gets alerted with their weaknesses in serving the public.
I would like to advice the public to use a proper channel to make a complaint and not by make it viral without cause. This will only worsen the situation and does not bring any benefit to the customers as well as the agency. It only takes a second for you to address your concern by using the RR application on your mobile phone.
Furthermore, with the application, we don’t have to worry whether actions are taken on the complaint as we are able to monitor is ourselves. The application is made for two-way communication which is why we can ask for the administration to give a feedback as promised on their customer guideline.
Every problem comes with a solution. Complaints are not a burden anymore to the government, but it is a gift for improvement and to move forward for a better service. RR apps is one of the methods made for people to ensure they have a response for each complaint had been made to PCB. Just as simple 1, 2, 3 you can download the RR apps and using it right now.
References
Aziz, F. (2016, May 17). Got a complaint?Download the ‘Rakyat Responz’App and get it fixed within 15 days. Retrieved from New Straits Time: http:www.nst.com.my
Kannan, H. K., & Babulal, V. (2019, July 18). PM launches ‘Respons Rakyat 2.0’ mobile application. New Straits Time. Retrieved from The New Straits Time: http:www.nst.com.my
Laporan Tahunan Biro Pengaduan Awam. (2018). Putrajaya: Biro Pengaduan Awam.