Dear Sir,

I went to ***bank ****** ****** today, September 9, 2005 at approximately 10a.m. My intention was to open an account bearing my name and my son's. After completing the necessary forms, I proceeded to the desk where a staff was handling matters like opening accounts etc.

When my turn was up, I told your staff of my intention. He asked me to present my IC and my driving license. This was where the ordeal started. I told him that I had my license combined with my Mykad. He then told me that "your system" is not able to get the information from the MyKad. (Don't banks have the MyKad readers?). I must say that he acted like I am very much the only person in Malaysia who had done this! So much so, that he even tried to illustrate to me of the "consequences" of combining my Mykad and my license. "What if you were stopped by a police traffic asking for your license?" was his example. I simply said, the police should have the readers as should banks. If the government has approved this, who is he to question? I am not to be blamed. On a more personal note, I realized this problem with MyKad long time ago, but in my case I had no choice. I lost my (old) IC and my license, and the replacement came as a 2-in-1.

I asked the staff whether there is anything else I could provide to substitute my license. He said I could give him my birth certificate, which, I did not have with me at that time. (How many adults go around carrying their birth certificate anyway?). I asked him again if there is anything ELSE I could provide. He then saw my working pass and asked why I did not give my working pass earlier. Now, how am I suppose to know that I could give him that, when he did not ask for it in the first place?
So I gave him that. He then told me that it was going to take AN HOUR for him to process everything. I am honestly shocked by this. One hour to key in the data into the system and get approval? I don't know about other people, but I think one hour is too long a time for a simple matter like this. I did not proceed my intention, obviously.

My questions.

1. Don't banks have MyKad readers?

2. Do you really need 60 minutes to complete an application like this, or was this incident an isolated case resulting from an ill-trained staff?

I am hopeful that you will look into your staffs' PR skills among other things. Your e-banking and facilities is definitely the best in Malaysia right now. But I cannot say the same about your services.