1963 Malaysia

1963 - Malaysia Celebration

In 1963, Malaya along with the then-British crowned colonies of Singapore, Sabah (British North Borneo) and Sarawak formed Malaysia. The Sultanate of Brunei, though initially expressing interest in joining the Federation, withdrew from the planned merger due to opposition from certain segments of its population as well as arguments over the payment of oil royalties and the status of the Sultan in the planned merger.

This FDC was issued to commemorate the formation of Malaysia. It has a pic of the former prime minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) and Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah (also known as the "Malaysia Father of Independence") being welcomed at the Kuala Lumpur Airport (Subang Air Port) after successfully discussed the "Malaysia talk" in London in 1962. This pic marked one of the classic moment in the formation of Malaysia. Lee Kuan Yew looked pretty handsome then.

What amazes me is that the graphic resolution used in this FDC. It should be around 300dpi. With the 1963 technology, is it even possible to privately print such a high resolution covers? Just look at some of the other 1960's covers:

Now, if you compare the FDC design of that era, you will understand why this privately made cachet is so special. However, unfortunately, the cover is in a very bad condition and thus should not worth much... sad.

The above is the official FDC issued by Pos Malaysia (formerly known as Jabatan Perkhidmatan Pos). If you have this FDC, you will notice that the "Berjaya Malaysia" at the top left corner is pasted on it after the cover being printed. I believe there is some printing error on this cover. If any reader have any info about this, you are welcome to share it under "comments".