Politeness Strategies in Openings and Closings of Service Encounters in Two Malaysian Government Agencies Maya Khemlani David and Kuang Ching Hei Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya Caesar DeAlwis Academy of Language Studies UiTM Sarawak Abstract Opening and closing a conversation can be activated both verbally and non-verbally, depending on participants, topic, and setting. While some types of opening and closing of conversations are perceived politely, others are perceived impolitely because cultures vary. Politeness is developed by societies in order to reduce friction in personal interaction and when taken in that light, politeness enhances rapport and establishes convergence in communication. Politeness can be used as a strategy to build relationships and minimise social distance between speakers and in any communication, it is of importance. This paper focuses on the politeness strategies used by civil servants in two government-linked full-fledged companies: Post Offices and the EPF (Employees Provident Fund) based in an urban area. The study observes both verbal and non-verbal cues used in openings and closings during service encounters in these two government-linked full-fledged companies . Data were obtained through audio and manual recordings of the said interactions which occurred during office hours. In particular, seven staff in these two government-linked full-fledged companies were observed i.e. five in the post offices and two in the EPF. The total interactions encountered and recorded were 228 and they were transcribed orthographically. Using Brown & Levinson‟s (1987) framework of Face Threatening Acts (FTA), findings suggest that both staff and the public seldom perform openings and closings and both parties also seldom greet and address each other. Although data is limited to only two government-linked full-fledged companies , findings indicate that phatic communication seldom occurs in government-linked full-fledged companies service encounters in Malaysia. This could therefore be used by researchers in communication as one step towards developing training courses for government –linked full-fledged companies which is necessary for social harmony. Keywords: Politeness, phatic communication, rapport management, verbal communication 1.INTRODUCTION Conversation is an essential activity in people‟s lives as communication helps them to achieve certain ends. While politeness has played an important role in daily conversations, what is deemed polite may vary from culture to culture. Service encounters may be an Email: mayadavid@yahoo.com