Well, if you are in the National Syllabus you will fondly remember Pengajian Am (General Studies) with the topic Kenegaraan! Today marks the celebratory stamps for the 50 Years of Rukun Negara (National Principles).
There were the usual hardcore collectors in the morning in the Kuala Lumpur Philatelic Bureau Headquarters. Pos Malaysia was kind to allow those us in early to get our queue numbers and wait for the counters to be open.
The stamps were designed in-house and this time the designer was invited to join for an hour long autograph session from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.
I found the Miniature Sheets to be really unique in a huge stamp like die cut embossed with gold foil! The stamps that came in setenant strips of 5 looks better than singles! I suggest Pos Malaysia to release the actual images early to generate more interest.
Towards the latter part of the morning, more collectors came. Seen on the spot were 2 numismatic runners. They usually come and buy for the numismatic dealers. It was not a surprise to see them. Hmmm…. there presence points to a strong suggestion…..
One of my old time friend came up with this design! It fits nicely and is awesome! A snip of the scissors and a very fitting title strip fit nicely to make a unique FDC! I saw others adjusting the title strip flag to close on to the FDC printed flag to create a similar effect. I decided to follow the design below:
Then it was a patient wait for the designer, Encik Kamarul Ariffin Abdul Hanan, an in-house designer of Pos Malaysia. Each person is allowed 10 items to be autographed. Thus the morning was a round and round queue for most of us.
Here is Encik Kamarul Ariffin, the man behind the mask, with a broad smile! A new way to take photos with the designer in this COVID-19 period.
Then it was off to a revision of Nationhood. Next stop, guess where?
Then the journey of discovery took me to where the stamps were launched back in 09 July 2020. I met a another collector friend as I was leaving the post office.
Guess the symbolism of the concordancy behind Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya…..
Next was a short drive to enshrine our national values.
It was here that I found out that a fellow concordanist has arrived earlier on the same mission! Onwards to the last stop.
It was going to be a long drive and just enough time without rushing….
On arrival, I did find traces of our concordanist friend’s test chops on the rough paper on the writing area. It was satisfying as we look back into our nationhood and the values that are enshrined in the National Principles. Coincidentally right opposite the post office is Masjid Al-Sultan Abdullah.
It was a long drive home in heavy traffic and light rain. Revision completed. Class dismissed.
Here are some additional information shared by Pos Malaysia on the quantities printed:
- Stamps: 250,000 pieces of each design
- Miniature Sheet: 25,000 pieces
- Empty folders: 2,000 pieces
Factoid: The Rukun Negara was released on 31 August 1970 during the 13th National Day.
Did any of you manage to do your own revision on concordancy in your area?
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