2001 Stamp Week featured yet another favorite theme of all time, marine life. The stamp, miniature sheet and cover were delightfully designed to include coral, sea horse, star fish, elephant shell and sea cow or "dugong". This stirred lot of interest in the collectors.The event was held in Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur from 10 November - 17 November 2001. The event was grant with tonnes of people from every part of the nation participate in it. Pos Malaysia even name this stamp week as "Pesta Setem" or Stamp Fiesta. Indeed it was a fiesta filled with joy and excitement.
"2001 stamp week cancellation and pesta stamp lable"Those who have participated in the stamp week would have a chance to get the 8 day-cancellation, a stamp week cancellation and an exclusive Biro Filateli Pesta Stamp lable (not postal legal).
"Weird print on cover"If you look at the first day cover in details (please click the cover above to enlarge it), you can see an unusual print on the cover. An obvious link was noted on the design on the FDC. My guess was that Pos Malaysia originally intended to have the miniature sheet fit on the specific location on the cover to form a syncronised image (like the 1996 and 1998 stamp week cover). However, due to some reason (maybe the size of the MS won't fit), this design was not put into the final print.
Did you notice that the design on featured on the stamp (the coral, sea horse, shell and star fish) was also featured in the miniature sheet? It could hint that the original design was intended to be a sheetlet with all the stamps but the final print separate the MS with the other stamp. Another tactic by Pos Malaysia to sell more cover I guess.
Did you notice that the design on featured on the stamp (the coral, sea horse, shell and star fish) was also featured in the miniature sheet? It could hint that the original design was intended to be a sheetlet with all the stamps but the final print separate the MS with the other stamp. Another tactic by Pos Malaysia to sell more cover I guess.
"Imperformorated miniature sheet"The unique print for this issue was thee imperf dugong miniature sheet.
The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. It is also the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of at least 37 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific, though the majority of dugongs live in the northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay. In addition, the dugong is the only strictly-marine herbivorous mammal.
Dugongs are pretty rare in Malaysia. However, some sighting are still recorded. Please see here for some report.
Note: Dugong is often mistaken as manatee. The main difference between manatees and dugongs are the tails. A manatee tail is paddle-shaped, while a Dugong tail is forked, similar in shape to a whale's.
Here is a dugong video from youtube:
