National philately museum in the pipeline

KUALA LUMPUR: Plans are underway to set up a national philately museum which will store and display stamps which reflect the identity of the country and are highly valued.
Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Seri Jailani Johari said the ministry was now planning for the museum and working out the costs and items (stamps) to be displayed as some had to be brought here from overseas.
"We need the cooperation of the government, the Philatelic Society of Malaysia (PSM) and our friends out there to get the materials which are worth a lot," he told reporters after launching the 150 Years Straits Settlements Mini Coffee Table Book at Pos Malaysia Headquarters at the Dayabumi Complex here today.
Also present were Pos Malaysia Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh, Head of Postal and e-Commerce Division, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Mohamed Zaidi Abdul Karim and PSM president Datuk Anuar Bashah.
On the event today, Jailani said it was an initiative to reflect on the history of stamps in the Straits Settlements.
The stamp collection on sale from yesterday until Dec 10 features three types of stamps, with 200,000 copies of the 60-sen and 80-sen stamps and 140,000 copies of the 90-sen stamps.
The 32-page coffee table book which features the stamp collection is not for sale but will be distributed to related agencies and departments as reference material.
The book contains the historical facts on the stamps which were used in British territories under the East India Company before the emergence of the Straits Settlements stamps. — Bernama