KUALA LUMPUR: Pos Malaysia clients can now opt for the AsiaXpress international courier service as an alternative following the postal delivery company’s decision to suspend its international mail and parcel, as well as its Express Mail Service (EMS) to all international destinations except Singapore beginning Aug 3.
Pos Malaysia said AsiaXpress is a premium price service and is available at selected post offices and Pos Laju centres for the delivery of international mail and parcel to more than 220 countries worldwide.
“During these challenging times, Pos Malaysia will assist our customers in every way possible including providing alternative international delivery solutions with minimal interruptions, especially during the temporary suspension of our international services. We recommend AsiaXpress as it shares the same commitment to quality as Pos Malaysia.” the company said in a statement.
AsiaXpress is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pos Malaysia and continues to offer international services via major courier service providers that own private fleets of aircraft or freighters to transport their shipments to international destinations, the statement read.
It said Pos Malaysia’s air and sea logistics assets are deployed for domestic use and still only relies on commercial flights for international mail and parcel and EMS.
Pos Malaysia is a Universal Service Obligation (USO) licensee for Malaysia required to perform all obligations under the USO, that is to deliver basic, accessible and affordable postal services to everyone in the country, regardless of their location, unlike commercial courier service providers who are not required to do so, the statement said.
Pos Malaysia also works closely with other global postal operators in maintaining an uninterrupted international postal network of outbound/inbound mail, parcel and EMS also known in the industry as postal lane services.
However, unforeseen circumstances such as the closure of borders, suspension of flight services and closure of airports/seaports may cause disruptions along the postal lane and may force postal operators to suspend international services until the situation improves, the statement read.
It said the situation differs for commercial courier service providers these are only courier licensees and not required to perform USO. Commercial courier companies are also not part of the same postal network as USO licensees, giving them the flexibility to alter delivery routes and charges in the event of a global issue such as Covid-19.
Pos Malaysia’s mitigation plans include sourcing for other logistics solution such as rail services to transport items to Europe via China and to seek cooperation with alternative postal organisations to provide transit service for postal items to countries where airline connectivity is limited or absent, the company said.
On July 31, Pos Malaysia said its international mail and parcel, as well as Express Mail Service (EMS) to all international destinations, except Singapore, will be suspended beginning Aug 3 until further notice.
The temporary service suspension is due to service impacts related to Covid-19, which involved varying levels of restrictions across destination countries on flights, airport closures and cross-border services, the company said. – Bernama
