KUALA LUMPUR – Mail services in the age of social media are often taken for granted, but line haul driver Samsuri Amat is one of the thousands of Pos Malaysia workers who have kept Malaysians connected, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It has been 29 years since the 50-year-old Samsuri began his journey as a postal worker. And he appears not to regret a single day of his job, even after driving thousands, if not millions, of kilometres for decades, just so we can receive our mail.
As the government-imposed lockdowns forced many desk-bound Malaysians to work from home, Samsuri simply did not have that option.
Instead, his job demands him to traverse through desolate and dark highways at ungodly hours. And while everyone else is fast asleep, at the stroke of midnight, Samsuri only begins his shift.
In conjunction with World Post Day which falls on October 9 each year, The Vibes tried to put themselves in the line-haul postman's shoes, following his usual Klang Valley-Melaka route as an unsung frontliner.
Sacrifices and hazards of the job
With a modest income, Samsuri could never boast a glitzy lifestyle. However, he can proudly say that all his three children are well on their way to becoming engineers soon, thanks to the earnings from a humble job. But there are many risks involved in his day-to-day role.
In total, Pos Malaysia employs 20,000 workers nationwide, with total frontliners – postman, riders, backend sorters, and counter staff – amounting to over 17,000 nationwide.
And with social distancing and remote working nearly impossible for the bulk of them, standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent Covid-19 infections needed to be strictly observed.
This, however, did not completely stop postmen from being infected. Operations for Pos Malaysia were disrupted whenever a single infection emerged at any one of its post offices and centres.
"During this pandemic, I am fearful of going to work as some of my colleagues fell sick (from Covid-19). Alhamdulillah, I have not been infected and as the family breadwinner, I am forced to go out and work as usual.
"Every time I return home, I do feel worried about meeting my wife and children at home, but we have to soldier on for the sake of our family's livelihood."
Beyond Covid-19, Samsuri’s job comes with other hazards as he has been involved in three accidents throughout his career.
"These accidents happened due to my negligence," he admits.
"Maybe I was too tired to drive but I still pushed on and was not alert while driving the trailers, leading to the accidents."
Other challenges of the job involve physical strain and the responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of what he transports.
"My right leg is constantly in a 'prison', while my left leg stands outside its walls," he said, figuratively explaining what life is like in the cabin of an eight-tonne truck.
"We have to always ensure the safety of the goods we carry. They should not be left behind or lost, thus all drivers must be cautious."
"We must also be sincere, honest, and trustworthy in performing our duty as the things we transport must reach their destination."
Taking pride in the job
Despite having occasionally missed important celebrations and events, such as the Hari Raya festive season and school sports days with his family, Samsuri believes that workers must take pride in their vocation.
Samsuri, who hails from Perak, says he left his quaint village in 1992 to seek the adventure of living in bustling Kuala Lumpur and travelling around the country.
"We must be proud of our careers as postmen. When we are always happy to do the job, we will always find it exciting," he says.
"Although we may have issues, we forget them because we want to earn a living for our wives and children."
World Post Day
According to the United Nations, World Post Day was declared by the 1969 Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo to commemorate the Universal Postal Union's (UPU) creation in 1874.
The international body noted that World Post Day is aimed at raising awareness on the role of postal services in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development.
On this day, UPU member countries are encouraged to celebrate the event at a national level and make efforts to introduce or promote new postal products and services. Holding open days at post offices, mail centres, and postal museums are also recommended.
In a statement, UN secretary-general António Guterres said World Post Day is held to recognise the invaluable contributions of postal workers to our societies and economies.
"The vast postal network – involving millions of workers moving billions of pieces of mail through hundreds of thousands of post offices – is woven into our societies, connecting communities the world over," he said.
He said the theme for this year’s celebration is “Innovate to recover”. Guterres highlighted how the postal sector is adapting to new realities and redefining itself, taking on new roles founded on digitalisation, e-commerce, and financial services.
"'Innovate to recover' invites everyone in the international postal sector to embrace creative change and leverage technology as we together look to build forward better from the pandemic." – The Vibes, October 9, 2021
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