Registered!

Like an eager beaver, I was there at The Mall by 7:30am.

I expected a crowd but I was only the second person waiting at the Companies Commission. By the time the counters opened at 8:15, there were about 20 of us in the line. (I wonder what businesses they are in? And how many would end up bankrupt and suicidal? Dark thoughts).

Instant flashback: I was there at the opening day of The Mall way back in 1986. There used to be a fountain that would periodically gush almost right to the ceiling. It was a mad crush because Yaohan had come to Malaysia, with fainting shoppers here and there.

End of flashback.

Time to be an entrepreneur.

I first needed to fill out a name-search form to make sure that no one else has taken the name Matahari Books. I put Mahahari Press and Matahari Publishing as second and third options. But I was in the clear, so Matahari Books it is.

So I filled out the forms in blue ballpoint. (The sign said I should use a black pen, but I only brought blue and I noticed the sign late and then they said it was OK and I was glad). I filled out my apartment address as the business address of this sole proprietorship, which now has the registration number 001703047-H. The nature of business: Penerbitan Buku (Book Publishing), natch.

Total cost: RM140, including for a transparent display thingy to house the certificate. Total time spent since the office opened: 2 hours 10 min. It should have been shorter, but for some reason my address came out wrong in the first certificate (it lacked a crucial Opal), so I had to wait 40 minutes for them to amend it.

Outside the office, I politely declined an offer to get a company stamp made. I don't think I need one, or am I wrong?

Tomorrow morning: Getting an ISBN for Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things, so that it can be sold in bookshops and all. Do tune in for the riveting details.

And if you can read Chinese, you might wanna check this out. (But it should be BOOKS, not PUBLISHING! Oh well).