Saturday 3 October 2009

POSTCODES, THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY


Do you C it?


CLICK HERE TO READ: Modern postcodes are 50 years old


The postcode should the fundamental, the essential element of a postal address.

It should be a unique, universal identifier, which unambiguously identifies the addressee's exact locality and assists in the transmission and sorting of mail items.


In some countries, like the UK, Germany, Canada, etc. a single postcode identifies just a few addresses, all that is needed on the envelope, as a minimum, is the building number, or name, and the postcode.


Fictitious example of a postcode for the UK:

LL9 6YJ

If only this (28, LL9 6YJ) was on the envelope, the letter would arrive at the correct place.

At present, 117 Universal Postal Union member countries use postcodes as part of their addressing systems, some are good, some are bad and some are downright ugly.

eg.

GOOD POSTCODE SYSTEM

United Kingdom

The estimated population of the UK was 61,383,000 in mid 2008.

The UK has 1.7 million postcodes covering about 28 million addresses.

The Royal Mail on-line postcode checker receives about 4.5 million hits a month

Each UK postcode covers an average of just 15 addresses

The first postal districts were introduced in London in 1857

Even Father Christmas (Santa Claus) has his own UK postcode -

SAN TA1


Everything from insurance premiums, route mapping information, on-line form filling to satellite navigation systems now rely on the UK postcodes.


BAD POSTCODE SYSTEM

Malaysia

Population (Updated 31 July 2009)




Population


2008

2009

Population

(In Million)


27.73

28.31



Malaysia has just a few thousand postcodes, see below, covering about 13 million addresses

Each postcode covers an estimated average of say 180,000 addresses


The system was supposed to be improved, but like most things in Malaysia, there has been no action talk only!


No one in Malaysia relies on the postcode as it is virtually useless.


The country is just playing lip-service by having a postcode, such superficial and misleading actions have sadly become the hallmark of Malaysia.


Postcodes in Malaysia

The postcodes used in Malaysia are a 5 digit code. Listed below are the first 2 digits of codes assigned to each state and special administrative area.

States

Capital

Postcode

Johor

Johor Baharu

80xxx-86xxx

Kedah

Alor Setar

02xxx, 05xxx-09xxx

Kelantan

Kota Baharu

15xxx-18xxx

Melaka

Melaka

75xxx-78xxx

Negeri Sembilan

Seremban

70xxx-73xxx

Pahang

Kuantan

26xxx-28xxx

Perak

Ipoh

30xxx-36xxx, 39xxx

Perlis

Kangar

01xxx

Pulau Pinang

Georgetown

10xxx-14xxx

Sabah

Kota Kinabalu

88xxx-89xxx

Sarawak

Kuching

93xxx-98xxx

Selangor

Shah Alam

40xxx-48xxx, 62xxx-64xxx

Terengganu

Kuala Terengganu

20xxx-24xxx

Special Administrative Area

Capital

Postcode

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

50xxx-60xxx, 68xxx

Labuan

Victoria

87xxx

Putrajaya

Putrajaya

62xxx

Listed below are the postcodes of main areas in Malaysia.

Area

Postcode

Kuala Lumpur

50000-50999

Kuala Lumpur

60000

Petaling Jaya

46000-46999

Subang

47200

Petaling Jaya

47300-47499

Petaling Jaya

47800-47810

Ampang

POSTCODE 68000

Population (2005) = Total 721,411 people, say 180,000 households, all using just a single postcode!!!!

Batu Caves

68100

Shah Alam

40000-40999

Puchong

47100

Subang Jaya / USJ

47500-47600

Klang

41000-41999

Klang

42100-42199

Pelabuhan Klang

42000

Kajang

43000-43010

Bukit Dukong

43030

Batu 9, cheras

43200

Seri Kembangan

43400

UPM Serdang

43600

UKM Bangi

43600

Banda Baru Bangi

43650

Putrajaya

62000

Cyberjaya

63000

Pulau Pinang

10000-10999

Tangung Bungah

11200

Penang

11400

Pulau Pinang

11600

Gelugor

11700

Bayan Lepas

11900

Butterworth

12000-12999

Bukit Mertajam

14000-14009

Johor Bahru

80000-80999

Johor Bahru

81200

Kluang

86000

Batu Pahat

83000-83050

Muar

84000-84009

Pasir Gudang

81700-81709

Kuantan

25000-25999

Melaka

75000-75450

Seremban

70000-70999

Nilai

71800-71850

Ipoh

30000-30999

Ipoh

31350

Ipoh

31400

Taiping

34000-34009

Teluk Intan

36000

Alor Setar

05000-05999

Alor Setar

6250

Alor Setar

6550

Alor Setar

6560

Alor Setar

6570

Kulim

9000

Lunas

9600

Sg. Petani

8000

Kangar

1000


THE UGLY TRUTH

A typical address in Malaysia can be very very long, and many roads use numbers instead of names!!

The pathetic Malaysian postcode is no help to locate an address should the numbers in the body of the address be illegible or wrongly written


Long Suffering Soul

Apartment 027-145

348B Jalan SS3B/87D

47800 Petaling Jaya


or even worse, often the address can be even longer and more convoluted!


So write very carefully folks, otherwise your mail will never be delivered.


Bona fortuna!


Good luck!



Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium


Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence.


4 comments:

Jerine said...

You know last time my postcode in Bayan Lepas was 11950. Right now it's 11900. Either postcode is ok? Sometimes I get confused myself which is the correct one.

mindful mariner said...

Jerine, thanks for the visit and your comments.
I do not think it really matters which postcode is used, both are more ornamental than really useful.
Hope your snail mail safely reaches your home in Bayan Lepas.

Saviour-V said...

Has there ever been any attempt to compile a comprehensive list of our postcodes? If there is, it might make things easier.

Or not. That info should be available to everyone, really.

mindful mariner said...

Hello Saviour-V, thanks for commenting.

I think Post Malaysia still publishes a postcode directory which can be bought at post offices.

The postcodes can also be searched on line at this url:

http://www.pos.com.my/V1/MAIN2.ASP?c=/v1/Postcode/Mainpage.htm

but the basic post codes still used in Malaysia in 2010 are all but useless.

Example:
A search for postcode 68000 brings up a list of 179 locations and housing areas which means there will be hundreds of thousands of dwellings and business premises using a single postcode 68000!