Collecting stamps is a hobby that is slowly being forgotten. Once upon a time, the hobby was one of the most popular among the old and young. Today, only a small handful are still collecting stamps.
This scenario is partly due to the advancement of technology that has influence the way we communicate with each other.
Before this, we had to write letters to communicate and it could take days for the letter to reach to the person it was meant for. But with the advancement of technology, letters have become irrelevant due to the ease of use and speed of email.
The sending of festive greeting cards, congratulations and birthday cards has replaced letters, and is now also sent via short messages on WhatsApp or Telegram platforms. It is no surprise there are current generations who do not know what stamps are, how it is used and where to get them.
Stamps are distributed by the official agencies who are responsible in managing the post services in a country. In Malaysia, the responsible agency is Pos Malaysia and Royal Mail is responsible for stamps that are in United Kingdom while Australian Post handles Australia.
The themes for stamps that are released are usually based on important events, famous people, art, culture, heritage, current issues and biodiversity, including both flora and fauna.
Biodiversity themes are among the most popular stamps and are often published by post services around the world. With no exception, Pos Malaysia has released various stamps collections related to local biodiversity such as ferns, flowers, wild liar, endangered aquatic animal, honey bees, freshwater fish, birds , butterflies, dragonflies, and many others.
The bird themed stamp collections has received the most attention when it were released. This was not surprising due there being more than 11,000 bird species worldwide, each one of them having their own uniqueness and appearances.
Based on Malaysia Biodiversity Information System (MyBIS) data, there are 785 bird species in Malaysia. Some of the bird themed stamps that was released by Pos Malaysia are the highland bird collection, horn bill collection, protected bird collection and the shrimp king bird collection.
More exciting, the release of remembrance stamps in conjunction with an event often uses biodiversity as it's theme. Recently, Pos Malaysia released stamps in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of Malaysia - China diplomatic relations.
The stamps worth of RM1.50 each is designed using images of merbau and pine trees. As we know, merbau tree (Intsia palembanica) is the national tree of Malaysia, while pine tree(Pinus hwangshanensis) is one of the most well known tree in China , which is also known as Greeting Pine.
It is clear that from the design of stamps, we can collect and share important information about the different species and biodiversity habitats that exist in our country.
Indirectly, this can increase public awareness of the importance of preserving nature and supporting conservation efforts to preserve biodiversity by various responsible agencies.
In addition, by collecting stamps we can also learn and appreciate the beauty of other countries.The uniqueness and beautiful designs can foster the interest of stamp collectors to learn more about flora and fauna depicted in the collection.
It is not an exaggeration to say that stamps can also be used as a medium for learning science subjects in a creative and innovative way among school students.
Collecting stamps is more than just a hobby. It also has high educational value if we start seeing it as a value-adding medium for learning and appreciation of biodiversity around the worldwide.
AUTHOR AFFAN NASARUDDIN Research Officer at the University of Malaya Sustainable Development Center (UMSDC) and can be contacted via e-mail
This article is translated from the original Malay article. It is the author's personal view and does not necessarily represent the official view or position of RTM.