Malaysia

This cover is quite interesting because it was franked by a postmark much smaller than the usual large postmarks that I usually get on Malaysian covers.


Here is a nice cover with 5 of the 18 stamps issued to show the different types of traditional houses found all over Malaysia.


This 3v issue from 2003 features the endangered Southern Serow, a solitary animal similar to a mountain goat that lives in densely forested mountain areas. It was once thought that if you were to see one you would have bad luck. Despite being herbivores, they are feisty and considered courageous as they won't back down from a fight, even when outnumbered. A Serow's saliva is considered a cure all and it is not uncommon to see Khmers (Cambodians) with their hands and feet poking into the Serow enclosure at the Wildlife Rescue Centre, hoping for a lick. Also, they are still hunted because their flesh and blood are said to enhance strength and vitality. The Serow are endangered due to their being excessively hunted and also due to habitat loss and fragmentation.


This second cover has the 2004 3v set commemorating the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol. The Biosafety Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.

The Biosafety Protocol makes clear that products from new technologies must be based on the precautionary principle and allow developing nations to balance public health against economic benefits. It will, for example, let countries ban imports of a living modified organism if they feel there is not enough scientific evidence that the product is safe, and it requires exporters to label shipments containing genetically altered commodities such as corn or cotton.

Living modified organisms (known as LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology are broadly equivalent to genetically modified organisms. The difference between an LMO and a GMO is that a Living Modified Organism is capable of growing, and typically refers to agricultural crops. Genetically Modified Organisms include both LMOs and organisms which are not capable of growing, i.e. are dead. 'Modern biotechnology' is defined in the Protocol to mean the application of techniques that overcome natural physiological reproductive or recombination barriers and are not techniques used in traditional breeding and selection.


Lastly, here is a cover with a 4v set of stamps that remind us of the Cold War. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), whose 13th conference held in Kuala Lumpur the stamps commemorate, is an international organisation of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. The movement is largely the brainchild of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, president of Egypt Gamal Abdul Nasser, and Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito. It was founded in April 1955; as of 2006, it had 118 members. The purpose of the organization as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics." They represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations's members and comprise 55% of the world population, particularly countries considered to be developing or part of the third world.