Philatelist overjoyed to get hands on ‘50 Tahun Rukun Negara’ stamp

By: Nur Fatin Mohmad Kadenen

JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 18 – Mohd Sidek Roslan waited a month for the Pos Malaysia ‘50 Tahun Rukun Negara’ special stamp issue and on its launch today finally has his hands on three special folders containing items from the collection.

“This stamp is special because we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Rukun Negara. I often popped into the post office to ask when the special edition would be out.

“When I learnt through Instagram that it would be Aug 18, I set aside time specially to buy the stamp because the gold colour (of the commemorative special miniature sheet) has a quality all its own for me,” said the kindergarten training consultant who inherited his love of stamps from his late dad.

He said that if it wasn’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, there would be long lines forming for the stamp.

“Many of the collectors are senior citizens and even some from Singapore, so maybe because of the coronavirus they are afraid to leave their home or can’t cross the border.

“Besides this, you can buy it online now, but I like coming to the post office,” said Mohd Sidek.

He said the stamp has special significance for him because the Rukun Negara symbolises unity.

“We learnt the tenets by heart at school. Malaysians should embrace them because each had a particular meaning,” said the avid collector since 2015.

Yeow Seng Leong, who has been collecting stamps since school, said he wasn’t going to miss out on the attractive special edition either.

“It’s a working day but I used my free time to buy the stamps,” said the 45-year-old who has spent 20 years building up his collection.

Bernama observed many people coming to get the ‘50 Tahun Rukun Negara’ stamp as early as 8.30am today at the main post office here.

-- BERNAMA