You have just arrived in Malaysia, and the first thing that pops into your mind is to write to the folks back home or send a souvenir you’ve found at the duty-free shop.Or you want to tell everybody how great Malaysia is and check how everyone is doing on the other side of the world.

Lucky for you, the postal service here is efficient and easily accessible. Post offices can be found all over KL and other cities, as well as in smaller towns. The Malaysian postal service is known locally as Pos Malaysia. Letters and packages are graded and charged according to weight, size and distance. A full list of Pos Malaysia’s locations, services and postage rates can be found at www.pos.com.my or call 1.300 300 300 or 03. 2727 9100 if you’re calling from overseas.

Bill payments are also done in Pos Malaysia, so go a little early if you’re rushed – the queue can be quite long. Pos Malaysia also provides remittance services in the form of money orders and postal orders for the easy and safe transmission of money. The money service comprises the local and international money order service, telegraphic money orders, and trade charge money orders.

The staff in Pos Malaysia usually converse in Malay. Be patient, as this may mean occasional communication problems. A simple ‘Apa Khabar?’ (How are you?) followed by ‘Minta Tolong’ (Please help me) might help.

Along with standard postal services, the premium service offered by Pos Malaysia is PosLaju, which literally means fast post. If you are sending a letter or package as far as Europe or the States, it usually takes 3 – 5 days to arrive with PosLaju. If you want it to arrive sooner, you can also opt to use a private courier service. There are quite a few available in Malaysia, both national and international. However, they are more expensive than PosLaju. Among the most common are DHL, Fed Ex and City Link:

PosLaju EMS– National Courier Service
Jalan Tun Sambathan, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03.2263 2626, Fax: 03.2274 4000
Web: www.pos.com.my

DHL Worldwide Express
Level 27, Menara TM off Jalan Pantai Baharu,
50672 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 1.800 888 388, 03.2241 8899/8000
Web: www.dhl.com.my

FedEx
17, Jalan TSB 8, Taman Industry Sungai Buloh,
off Kota Damansara, 47000, Selangor.
Tel: 1.800 88 6363 (Customer Service),03.2179 0370
Web: www.fedex.com/my

UPS – United Parcel Service
11 Jalan Tandang, Wisma Ali Bawal 1,
46050 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03.7784 1233 (Customer Service)
Web: www.ups.com/asia/my/engindex.html

City-Link
3A Jalan Akitek U1/22, Seksyen U1,
HICOM Glenmarie Industrial Park, 40000 Shah Alam
Tel: 03.5033 3800 (Customer Service)
Web: www.citylinkexpress.com

TNT Express Worldwide
17B, Menara PKNS, Jalan Yong Shook Lin,
46050 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 1.300 882 882 (24-hours), 03.7962 3333
Web: www.tnt.com