Stamps of Merit

Photo Credit: Kevin Lim, Singapore Philatelic Museum.
(The Sunday Times, Nov 22, 2009)

Its been over a week since I last blogged about the "Do away with postage stamps" letter by Dr Lim Chong Teck to the Straits Times Forum Page on Nov 10.

Apparently the topic is still hot; as it was featured in the "hot" section of today's Sunday Times. Nicholas Yong of The Sunday Times wrote: "Young stamp collectors may be a rare breed, but the old-fashioned hobby is still thriving".

[Quote]

Undergraduates Sin Tong, 23, Sin Yong, 21, and Sin Yuan, 18, share an old-fashioned hobby passed down by their parents - stamp collecting. While the brothers have garnered trophies for their collections, they are a rare breed among their peers who are more used to e-mail than snail mail.

The appeal of stamp collecting to modern youths is perhaps best summed up by Sin Yong: "When I tell my peers that I collect stamps, they go 'huh?"

Retiree James Song, 59, a member of the Association of Singapore Philatelists, lamented: "When I ask kids, why don't you collect stamps, most will say, so boring."

His own son, who is in his 30s, has no interest in them, he added.

A debate on the culural and historical value of stamps was sparked by a recent letter to The Straits Times' Forum by Dr Lim Chong Teck, who proposed that postage stamps be phased out as a safeguard against counterfeit stamps and to keep postage rates low.

The letter prompted others to write in to praise the merits of stamp collecting. One of them, Professor Tommy Koh, chairman of the National Heritage Board, wrote that as a youth, it "opened my mind to history, historical personalisties, arts, culture and the wonders of the natural world".

The main stamp collectors' associations here include the Kreta Ayer Stamp Society, Zui You Philatelic Society and the Singapore Philatelic Society.

Kreta Ayer Stamp Society has about 500 registered members, of whom only about 50 are active. Their average age is 45. Vice-President Connie Tai said: "It is very hard to recruit younger members."

The stamp-collecting scene here consists mainly of casual collectors. About 15,000 people have a Standing Order Deposit Account with SingPost. This is a special service provided by the Singapore Philatelic Bureau to allow stamp collectors to obtain new stamp issues and stamped stationery through home delivery.

The Singapore Philatelic Museum (SPM) received about 100,000 visitors last year. General Manager Tresnawati Prihadi said: "We often see parents with their children on weekends, buying stamps. Many also come to our open houses."

One relatively young collector is Mr Charles Loong, 34, a credit manager in a securities firm who started collecting when he was in primary school. While he is an active member of the Singapore Stamp Club, he noted that "it is very hard to find fellow collectors around my age". The active members are mostly in their 40s and 50s.

Nevertheless, he thinks the pastime should be passed on to the next generation.

"It takes a great deal of patience, and is a good way to teach children geography and history."

The most he has paid for a single item is $20,000 for a three-cent revenue stamp issued by the Qing dynasty in 1847.

Other collectors such as contractor David Chang, 51, are doing their best to ensure that their children also take up the pastime. Mr Chang spends many hours with his son Johnson, 11, poring over stamps. He has spent about $60,000 on his collection in the last few years and is encouraging his younger son to collect them.

Johnson, who is the youngest member of Kreta Ayer Stamp Society,said: "Stamp collecting is fun. They hyave very nice pictures and I can also improve my knowledge."

The mother of the three undergraduates, Madam Au Yong Keok, 50, who works in the infocomm sector, said she and her engineer husband Sin Sia Bah, 55, taught their sons to collect stamps.

She said: "Stamp collecting helps them in their studies. They learn to be meticulous and it teaches them discipline and how to organise their work."

Sin Yong estimated that their collections combined are worth "a few thousand" dollars. As budding amateur magicians, they have even incorporated stamp tricks into their performances.

The Singapore Philatelic Museum houses the largest collection here, boasting stamps, philatelic materials and postal history artefacts from here and around the world.

Senior curator Lucille Yap estimated that there are about 100 serious collectors here who take part in competitions and exhibitions. She added that there are also many "closet collectors" who prefer to maintain their privacy.

One of the most well known collecors is founder and senior consultant at DP Architects Koh Seow Chuan, who has won prizes at philatelic exhibitions. "Stamps can be the doorway to something much deeper - a new world of discovery and creative exploration," said Mr Koh, 69, who has been collecting for almost seven decades.

Others such as retiree Mr Song, who has brought his collection to exhibitions and competitions here and overseas, estimated that he has spent up to half a million dollars on his collection in the last 50 years. Mr Song, a former stamp dealer, houses his collection in a cupboard equippedwith a special humidity rod to dry the air.

Many declined to put a monetary value on their collections, insisting they were driven by passion. As Mr Song put it: "Once you collect something, you like to keep on collecting."

Even younger collectors such as Sin Yong understand the need to have it all: "Sometimes it gets expensive when you want to complete a collection. But at time, you are driven to do it. It may be just one or two pieces missing from a set, and it's a pity if you don't have it."

[Unquote]

I believe this newspaper article will generate more positive interest in stamp collecting; and create an awareness among the uninitiated, to learn about this age-old hobby, amidst challenging competition from other hobbies youngsters find "cool" - such as collection of mobile phones, electronic gadgets and computer game titles.

Unfortunately, there was an over-emphasis on "commercialised" stamp collecting in the published article.

Stamp collecting as a hobby doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Children could get their parents to bring home the used stamps (which would otherwise be thrown away as rubbish) from their office, and then exchange duplicated stamps for different ones with their friends, both locally and overseas.

The school curriculum for primary school students could also include a "Learning through Stamps" programme to make their lessons more fun and interesting. The teachers would also have more innovative ways to tell stories through stamps.

Stamps opened his mind to the world

The following is the letter written by Professor Tommy Koh, Chairman, National Heritage Board published in today's Straits Times Forum Page.

[Quote]

I would like to share with readers my response to Mr Lim Chong Teck’s letter, "Do away with postage stamps” (Nov 10).

I was an avid stamp collector when I was in primary and secondary schools. Collecting stamps helped to educate me and brought me joy. It was through my stamp collection that I became knowledgeable about world geography and excelled in that subject in school.

The stamps opened my mind to history, historical personalities, arts, culture and the wonders of the natural world. Collecting stamps also taught me to be disciplined, methodical and to find happiness in a wholesome hobby.

Collecting stamps is something which parents and children can do together and is a bonding experience.

Let me quote a section from a lovely poem, Stamp Collecting, by one of Singapore's best poets, Boey Kim Cheng:

Starting with Australia, she slides the
stamps
behind the filmy strip, the album
breathing
promise in its fresh gluey feel, the world
being collected and unfolding as it fills up
shelf by shelf. As her five-year-old
fingers
gingerly slip the countries into place, the
questions
spill out, like the stamps from an old
album
I opened yesterday, forgotten pressed
flowers
of a time when the world arrived
in a philatelic queue, surviving
emblems from my stamp-mad phase

Tommy Koh
Chairman
National Heritage Board

[Unquote]

Thanks to Professor Tommy Koh for sharing his stamp collecting experience with readers of The Straits Times.

If you would like to share your personal experience and joy of stamp collecting on this blog, you are welcome to post your comments here or submit your contribution as a guest blogger to thimbuktu@hotmail.com. Thank you.

"Do away with postage stamps"

Extracted from The Straits Times, November 16, 2009 (Forum Page)

I received a mild shock of disbelief when I read Mr Lim Chong Teck's letter "Do away with postage stamps" in the Straits Times Forum Page of November 10, 2009 (reproduced below).

As an avid stamp collector in my primary schooldays, the first thought that struck my mind when I read the headline was: "Oh dear, this is going to be a killjoy for stamp collectors".

I then emailed the Straits Times the same day to express my personal concern.

The edited version of my letter appeared in today's Straits Times as shown in the image above.

The official reply from Ms Patsie Tan, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, Singapore Post "Stamps are icons of nation's achievements, heritage" is a source of comfort for stamp collectors. Many international stamp collectors find the designs of stamps printed in Singapore attractive, colorful and unique. The Singapore postage stamps are the "icons of our nation's achievements and heritage" as aptly described by Ms Patsie Tan.

Ever since the first postage stamp, the "Penny Black" was issued on May 6, 1840, the postage stamp designs issued by every country has evolved for over a century. The artwork and designs of postage stamps today has become more creative and theme-specific.

It is heartening to note that SingPost understands the intrinsic values that stamps are collected and goes beyond revenue consideration with regards to the feasibility of replacing traditional postage stamp with computer-printed labels (as suggested by Mr Lim Chong Teck in his letter). The postal authorities are mindful to cater to the needs of stamp collectors worldwide.

Mr Lim Chong Teck's letter which appeared in The Straits Times, November 10, 2009 Forum Page.

According to the Universal Postal Convention 2004 Bucharest Congress Annex paragraph 8 of the "Philatelic code of ethics for the use of UPU member countries, "Administrations pledge to abide by this code of conduct in order to ensure the long-term survival of the philatelic market in each country".

The 2004 Bucharest Congress, in "Recommendation C 26/2004", also reaffirms its commitment to the production of high quality, ethical stamps, and to a vibrant philatelic market.

The "Philatelic code of ethics" is found here

I hope the article is not quoted out of context, as the constitution of the UPC, with its legal terminologies, is too complex for me to understand.

The fact that there is a "vibrant" "philatelic market in each country" appears to me that the Universal Postal Union recognises that "postage stamps are more than a mode for payment of postage" (as eloquently explained by Ms Patsie Tan in her reply).

The link to the   "ReTRIeVIA"  blog was also provided in the published letter. Please visit the blog to discover the wonderful world of stamp collecting.

Memories of Sembawang

When I first read Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" about 50 years ago, I was around the age of Manolin, the young apprentice of the old man in the story, Santiago.

I'm now the old man...just like changing roles.

It is the touching story of an old fisherman who shares his personal life experience with a little boy.

The lesson: "Learn to fish" (figuritively speaking).

There's a Chinese proverb: "Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime".

In his review of the book, Bob Corbett wrote:

"The Old Man and the Sea" is a magnificent story. At one level it is the tale of a man and a fish, at another, a story of man versus nature, at yet another, the story of the culture of manhood, courage, bravery in the face of existence, and at yet another a history of what life was like when individuals were more the central actors on the human stage and not groups or organizations.

Hemingway's world is not my world. I am no Santiago, no macho man. And the culture of today has little place left for the radical individual whom Hemingway celebrates and Santiago portrays. Yet the power of Hemingway's telling is such that I couldn't help but be on Santiago's side, to admire him, to ache with his loss in the end to forces greater than he.

This great individual, the man who stands alone, is not alone completely by choice. He has developed a friendship, a working relationship, a love with a young boy who began fishing with him when the boy was only five".

The sea has always fascinated me. I've spent a great deal of my time at the seaside during my younger days.

At various times, I have lived near the sea...Sembawang, West Coast, East Coast and Changi Point.

After all, Singapore is an island, surrounded by water.

In my twenties, I was staying alone in a rented room in Sembawang when I was working at Woodlands Road. My buddies and I used to visit the jetty at Sembawang for line-fishing and to catch "flower crabs" during weekends.

This is the picture of the jetty at Sembawang Park as it appears many years ago when I was staying at Sembawang Road 13¼ milestone, near the famous "Patio" food street which was popular among the Australians, New Zealanders and British servicemen of the ANZUK Forces.

Sembawang, an idyllic, remote village, is located at the northern-most part of Singapore.

Chong Pang was the "town center" of Sembawang. I used to go to the "Sultan Cinema" in the evening to watch movies at only S$0.30. The movies are usually second-run, 2 or 3 months after their first screening in the cinemas in the city.

The village folks in Sembawang are mostly simple, humble people who eke out a living in the Naval Base before its handover to the Singapore government by the British.

Whenever people who live in Sembawang goes to the city, they will say "I'm going to Singapore"....as if Sembawang is not part of Singapore : )

Perhaps its the proximity of Sembawang to Johor where travelling time is shorter to Johor than to the city areas in Singapore, regarded as a faraway place.

In the 1970s, the villagers of Sembawang were adversely affected by the withdrawal of the British servicemen and naval forces.

Open Letter from Singaporean Historian Dr Loh Kah Seng

Dr Loh Kah Seng, a Singaporean historian, is embarking on his new book about the British bases and their withdrawal from Singapore in the 1970s.

His open letter is reproduced below and on his blog.

Please contact Dr Loh and help him to preserve this important milestone of Singapore history for posterity; and to help future generations of Singaporeans to understand that the birth of our nation was not an easy one.

Thank you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear fellow Singaporeans

I am a Singaporean historian looking to speak to people who remember the British bases and their withdrawal in the early 1970s. The withdrawal was the first major crisis independent Singapore faced. The 56 bases, contributing a fifth of the country’s GDP, were its largest industry, and the pullout threatened the livelihood of one-sixth of the labour force, including an estimated 8,000 amahs.

The pullout also transformed the economy, society and landscape of Singapore in the 1970s. Most of the bases were converted to commercial use, while many base workers underwent a 3-month retraining crash course. Technical and vocational education also expanded, as new laws sought to increase labour productivity and attract foreign capital investment.

These developments resonate with us today: the retraining programmes, the mobilisation of the young, the philosophy that ‘no one owes Singapore a living’. There is also a forgotten social history to unearth: how retrenched base employees coped with the crisis and how workers adjusted to new work routines.

If you remember the British bases and rundown, or have a family member, relative or friend who does, kindly contact me to lend your voice to an important episode of our national story.

Please pass this message along to those who might be interested.

Thank you.

Loh Kah Seng (Dr)
Visiting Research Fellow
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
Email: LKSHIS@GMAIL.COM
Mobile: +65 81981172
--
Loh Kah Seng
Visiting Research Fellow, ISEAS
Adjunct Assistant-Professor, NTU
http://lkshistory.wordpress.com/
New book, Making and Unmaking the Asylum
http://unmakingtheasylum.wordpress.com/

Are smart phones getting too smart?

Mobile inventor says modern-day phones are too complex

The inventor of the mobile phone says the devices have become too complex, with a range of features from cameras to music, since he made the first-ever wireless call over three decades ago.

"Whenever you create a universal device that does all things for all people, it does not do any things well," former Motorola researcher Martin Cooper told a conference.

"Our future, I think, is a number of specialist devices that focus on one thing that will improve our lives," the 80-year-old added.

Cooper, who was born in Chicago, was the lead engineer of the Motorola team that developed the handheld mobile phone. He made the first-ever wireless call from a busy Manhattan street corner on April 3, 1973.

"The first cell phone model weighed over one kilo and you only could talk for 20 minutes before the battery ran out, which is just as well because you would not be able to hold it up for much longer," he said.

"What we did with this mobile telephone was create a revolution. Before the mobile phone existed we were calling a place, now we are calling a person."

Since that first call was made the popularity of mobile phones has soared, with more than four billion people owning one today, Cooper said, compared to only 300,000 in 1984.

Source: Agence France Presse, 11/5/2009

Impact of Internet and Cellphones

Source: The Straits Times, Friday, Novemeber 6, 2009

[Quote]

Technology boosts social life: Study

Users of Internet and mobile phones have more active and wider social networks

WASHINGTON: Contrary to popular belief, technology is not leading to social isolation and Americans who use the Internet and mobile phones have larger and more diverse social networks, according to a new study released on Wednesday.

The study refutes reserach earlier in the decade suggesting that people's growing embrace of technology has come at the expense of close human connections.

"All the evidence points in one direction," said Dr Keith Hampton, lead author of the report by the Pew Internet and Merican Life Project.

"People's social worlds are enhanced by new communication technologies.

"It is a mistake to believe that Internet use and mobile phones plunge people into a spiral of isolation," said Dr Hampton, an assistant professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

......

The Internet also has not pulled people away from public places like parks, cafes and restaurants - in fact, it is just the opposite.

The study, which has a margin of error plus or minus 2.5 percentage points and accounted for difference because of age, education and other factors, also found that people now tend to use cell-phones more than land lines to stay in touch with their closest family members and friends.

In fact, people now text these close friends and family members as much as they use traditional land line phones, about 125 days out of the year.

Face-to-face contact is still the primary way people keep in touch. The average person sees each member in his close group of confidants 210 days out of the year. If they have cellphones, they call each person in that group on 195 days.

Another interesting tidbit: Users of social networking websites are 40 per cent more likely to visit a bar, but 36 per cent less likely to visit a religious institution than those who shun Facebook, MySpace and the like.

Agence France-Presse, Associated Press

[Unquote]