Thousands to join World Youth Stamp Exhibition
Published on: Friday, November 28, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR: They are willing to fly tens of thousands of kilometres for a single stamp. This may sound peculiar to others, but to philatelists, it is hardly outside the norm. It is not the size or the value of the stamp that matters, but the philosophy, history or reason behind it that makes it a hobby that unites many from across the globe. Stamps provide a method of informal learning into the arts, the sciences, forensics, mathematics, history and nature.
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It is this enormous value of the humble-sized stamp that are bringing together thousands of philatelists from the world over to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysia 2014 World Youth Stamp Exhibition (Klwyse), from Dec 1 to 6, at the KL Convention Centre. The exhibition, to celebrate 160 years of postage stamps in Malaysia, is the first of its kind and the first to be held in Malaysia. Over 40 countries will be taking place in the exhibition, making it the largest philatelic exhibition in the Southeast Asia, said the Philatelic Society of Malaysia President Datuk Annuar Bashah Sohore. The exhibition will showcase over 100,000 stamps from, among others, Togo, Uganda, the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Uruguay, Spain and over 30 Asian countries.
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He said many old letters and stamps, such as from the old Kedah Malay sultanate, were currently in the hands of foreign collectors. "We need to inculcate in the youths the love and appreciation of our nation's heritage and ensure that such precious stamps remain in our collection," Annuar Bashah said.
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The first stamp used by the Straits Settlements under the British East India Company, 160 years ago, were also in the collection of a foreign philatelist. The stamp, which bore the face of a 15-year-old Queen Victoria, was highly sought after and bought by its eventual owner for millions of Ringgit. "The 160-year-old stamp will be featured during the exhibition and is not something local philatelists would want to miss," he said. A competition will also be held during the exhibition, where some 300 participants from 34 countries will submit a written entry on stamps, based on the themes selected. "It would have to be a minimum of 16 pages, front and back, for evaluation by a panel of jurists. To qualify an entry, contestants would have had to enter the national level competition first," he said. Winners would be judged from several angles, such as history and content, and would be awarded medals. The exhibition is jointly organised by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commision, the Philatelic Society of Malaysia and Pos Malaysia Berhad. One of Malaysia's youth representative in the competition is Mohd Azharudin Md Azmi, 21, who will be focusing on the 1Malaysia theme. He had won the silver medal in the Asean level competition in Singapore in 2007 and is going for the gold in the upcoming competition. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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