Teluk Intan Post Office, A Witness to the Town's Development
In every town and important township, the post office is a vital institution for the area's delivery system. In the past, almost every service, from mail delivery and savings deposits to voter registration and lottery draws, could be conducted at the post office. As an important port town, Teluk Intan was certainly no exception to this essential post office service. Located between the Old Teluk Intan Police Station and the Hong Kong And Shanghai Bank Corporation Bhd, this Post Office building is one of the oldest structures in Teluk Intan. It is believed to have been built in the early 1890s.
This is based on the earliest article found regarding this post office from The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser on October 5, 1895, which stated, “They are not many trains a day out of it, and in going to the Post Office for the letters one has to pass police station ; unless a native of the place volunteers the information, one is puzzled to know whether that building is a prison, a church, a mousoleum, a theatre, or a Chinaman’s house”.
Situated on land gazetted for Pos Malaysia, the front facade is designed with a rhythmic arrangement of windows in a 3-3-3 and 3-4-3 pattern on the first floor. Originally, there were four entrances with arched doorways, similar to the police station building next to it. However, this has changed due to renovations carried out to meet modern workspace requirements. At the main entrance of the building, there is an arch inscribed with the words “Pejabat Pos” (Post Office). This inscription is believed to have existed since the building was first constructed. It is similar to the ‘Balai Polis’ (Police Station) inscription found on the old police station building next door.
There are many services that were once provided and are still continued at this post office today. Besides providing mail reception and delivery services, this post office once provided lottery draw services. In 1952, during a lottery draw competition with a first prize of $300,000 organized by the Hock Soon Keong Temple, the Teluk Anson Post Office at the time received so many entries from across the peninsula that lottery tickets were sold out by the second day of the competition.
More lottery tickets were requested from the General Post Office in Kuala Lumpur. The post office was also crowded with people wanting to buy these lottery tickets, leading to some chaos. However, in the 1950s, there were several complaints regarding the services provided at the Teluk Anson Post Office. Among the complaints published in The Straits Times on March 17, 1952, was: “On the morning of March 13, I sent one of my men to pay my phone bill at Teluk Anson Post Office. He was told by the counter clerk to come the next day as the day’s collection were too heavy.
Also, at the Registered Articles counter, one has to wait for almost half an hour at the peak period to have a letter attended to. What sort of service is the Post Office offering?. Is the Post Office meant for the public or the public for the Post Offic convenience?. Disgusted Tax Payer . Teluk Anson.” Other complaints regarding this Post Office were also mentioned in The Straits Times on March 25, 1961: “The postal facilities at Teluk Anson are about the worst in the country. The stamp counter is crowded like the third class window at a cinema hall and people are compelled to wait at least half an hour for attention. This is because the only clerk there has to sell stamps, register letters and sell welfare lottery tickets at the same time. Postal deliveries are the same. A cover sent to me from Penang arrived at Teluk Anson post office on March 13 but it was not until a week later – March 20, that I received it. This is not the first instance of such delays. Lee Jit Cheng. Teluk Anson.”
Lottery ticket sales services at the Teluk Intan Post Office were discontinued in the 1980s. Following the privatization of the Post Office by the government in 1992, Pos Malaysia Berhad took over postal administration and introduced the Pos Laju service in Teluk Intan. Teluk Intan Post Office is one of the heritage sites marked with a historical plaque through the Teluk Intan Heritage Trail project, conducted by the Perak Society of Heritage Lovers (SEMARAK) and funded by the CIMB Foundation. If you visit Teluk Intan, do not forget to visit the heritage sites available here.
