Thursday, August 14, 2008

‘Walk-in’ friendship club …

Everytime new stamps are issued, you are bound to see them at the Kuala Lumpur General Post Office. They have been meeting quite often although most of the occasions without prior arrangement.

With Pos Malaysia coming out with at least one set of new stamps a month, the possibility of such get-together has no doubt increased.
Because of this , they have grown to know each other well and could easily tell if you are someone new.
But that does not stop a newcomer from joining the ‘friendship club’ and discuss the subject of their meeting – stamps.
Like many ardent collectors, sixty-four year-old Andy Tan and Ong Leong Say, 55, would thronged the post office to get the latest issue of first-day covers (FDC).
As they stick the stamps on the specially-designed 30 sen envelopes, they exchanged views about the stamps issued today to mark the centenary celebration of the scouts association in Malaysia.
What makes collecting FDC interesting is it provides information about the stamps and why there were issued.
“This is not just a hobby but knowledge,” says Tan, who has been collecting stamps for 30 years.
Ong agreed, saying he has learned, among other things, about culture, costumes, artefacts and monuments from the stamps issued over the years.