There were once a time when we made calls using our dial home telephones we used the reliable service of an ‘operator’ usually a polite female who will connect us to a number we desired or to link up to an overseas line. Since the 60’s these operators were the bridge between the caller and their intended destination, plugging the the cable to the right channel.

Here in Malaysia a dedicated code was attributed by Telekom Malaysia for the purpose, 101 was reserved on this occasion and callers would call the the number and tell the operator a company name, a persons full name or a phone number and they will be connected accordingly. If the line is busy or unreachable, the caller will be informed as well. It was like having a personal secretary! But sadly this is about to end.

MCMC has just announced the cessation of the service officially ending 101 come September 1st. In a statement released on its social page, the agency published a notice informing the public that the 101 service had become redundant in the age of technology where callers can either choose to use Subscriber Trunk Dialing (STD) for local connection or International Direct Dial for overseas call without the need for an operator assistance.

In many ways TM can cut operational costs and look at other areas, existing operators can be deployed to more needed sections like Unifi call centre and retrained to troubleshoot broadband problems over the line. For those longing for nostalgia, this will be another service that will cease to exist and forever be destined to the annals of history along with the dial-phone, phone booth and spiral phone-cords.

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