Traditional Children's Folk Tales Stamp

Sang Kancil and the Crocodiles

Sang Kancil is know as the smartest animal in our jungle and this is the story of how he trick the crocodiles. Wager to taste the fruits in the orchard on the other side of the river, he informed the crocodiles that Raja Sulaiman has ordered Sang Kancil to do a headcount as he wanted them to give them a gift. Sang Kancil ordered them to form a queue stretching all the way across the river. Deftly, he jumped on them until he crossed the river. Upon reaching the opposite bank of the river, he cheekily told the crocodiles that he had tricked them and that there were no gifts forthcoming from Raja Sulaiman. The crocodiles became angry and until today bear a grudge.

Sang Kancil Helps Kerbau

This tale is about an ungrateful crocodile called Sang Bedal. Trapped under a fallen tree, Sang Bedal's cries for help were heard by Sang Kerbau. Using his horns, Sang Kerbau freed the crocodile. The wily crocodile then decided to make a meal of Sang Kerbau and swiftly captured the latter's legs. During the scuffle, Sang Kancil happens to walk by and devised a way to help Sang Kerbau. Feigning disbelief, he asked Sang Kerbau to demonstrate how he removed the fallen tree off Sang Bedal. His leg freed from the crocodile, Sang Kerbau upon Sang Kancil's instruction dropped the tree back on the crocodile. The ungrateful Sang Bedal, who does not appreciate a good deed, was trapped under the tree again.

Bawang Putih Bawang Merah

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Bawang Merah who lived with her stepmother and stepsister named Bawang Putih who always abused her. One day, she heard the call of a carp fish from the well who wanted to help her. Unfortunately, her stepmother and stepsister found out. They caught the fish and cooked it. Bawang Merah's mother appeared to her in her dreams and told her about the fish. She told her Bawang Merah to bury the fish bones. Bawang Merah buried them and amazingly a tree with a golden swing grew before her eyes. One day while happily swinging on her golden swing, her melodious voice attracted the attention of a prince who was passing by and who eventually married her and they lived happily ever after.

Badang

Once there was a young man called Badang who discovered he was not able to catch any fish from the rivers for the past three days. Realising that someone was stealing his fish, he decided to keep watch. At midnight, he saw a strange form with red shinning eyes and beard that reached to its stomach emerge and it quickly devoured his fish. Badang grew angry and rushed at the creature to kill it. Pleading for its life, it promised to make Badang strong by eating the fish he threw up and ran away. Still angry, Badang grabbed a huge branch and to his amazement broke it easily. Eventually, Badang found he had great strength and used it to help the people. The King found out and appointed Badang as his warrior.

Mat Jenin

This is a story about Mat Jenin, a daydreamer. After he picked 50 coconuts and while resting comfortably on a coconut palm leaf, Mat Jenin starts to daydream. The money from selling the coconuts will be used to buy twenty chicken eggs. Once hatched, they will be sold for goats and later the goats for some cow and a horse. While riding on the horse, he met a princess and they ride the horse together. While galloping, the horse suddenly stumbles. Mat Jenin opens his eyes and found himself floating in the air on the palm leaf. He makes a safe landing and a neighbour who witnessed the incident said "Only hard work pays, daydreaming only brings disaster."

Si Tanggang

This story is about an ungrateful son called Si Tanggang and the consequences of his disloyalty to his parents. One day, Si Tanggang was captured and put to work on a ship. The Captain grew found of him and eventually made him his son-in-law, as well as the ship's captain. One day, caught in a storm, Captain Tanggang was forced to moor his ship in the village his parents lived. When they came to meet Si Tanggang, he was embarassed they looked so old and refused to acknowledge them. Saddened by the son's behaviour, his mother cried out to the heavens. Suddenly lightning, strong wind and waves tore the ship to pieces. Captain Tanggang, his wife and crew were turned to stone.



Technical Details

Date of Issue : 26-Jun-2007

Denomination : 50 sen Setenant, 30 sen Setenant

Stamp Size : 40mm x 30mm

Miniature Sheet Size : 100mm x 70mm

Stamp Size in Miniature Sheet : 50mm x 40mm

Booklet : 30 sen x 10

Perforation : 14

Sheet Content : 20 Stamps

Paper : SPM Watermarked, Phosphor Coated

Printing Process : Silver foil hotstamping & Lithography

Printer : Percetakan Keselamatan Nasional Sdn Bhd

Stamp Designer : Reign Associates Sdn Bhd

First Day Cover Value : 30 Sen

Presentation Pack Value : RM 4.50

Miniature Sheet Value : RM 5.00

Stamp Booklet Value : RM 3.00

Folder Value : RM 5.00

POS Malaysia 22 Jun 2007, Friday Press Release

TRADITIONAL CHILDREN’S FOLK TALES DEPICTED IN STAMPS AND FIRST DAY COVER

Pos Malaysia will issue a set of special stamps and First Day Cover on Traditional Children’s Folk Tales on 26 June 2007. The special stamps and First Day Cover will feature the images of famous characters in traditional children’s folk tales.

Traditional children’s folk tales form an integral part of traditional literature which should be known and enjoyed by all children. Aside from their entertainment value, these traditional folk tales will enrich their lives with the many moral values that form a big part of these stories. Through these stories, children today have the opportunity to experience the past as well as gain knowledge on the lives, beliefs and the important values of the people of the ancient times. These traditional stories which contain good motivating elements and usually illustrate a principle or value children can relate to and learn, will inspire as well as inculcate moral values that will remain with them through adulthood.

Si Tanggang, Mat Jenin, Si Badang, Bawang Putih Bawang Merah and the widely popular children’s tale on a manikin mouse deer called “Sang Kancil” are only some of the traditional children stories that are well-loved and widely known by all Malaysians.

“Children’s folk tales are an example of the enduring tradition of elders teaching the young on the importance of having strong and positive moral values through the subtle method of storytelling. The traditional folk tales have been passed on from generation to generation and until now, it is enjoyed by Malaysians of all ages,” said YBhg Dato’ Idrose Mohamed, Managing Director of Pos Malaysia.

“It is indeed a pleasure for Pos Malaysia to depict some of the most well-known traditional children’s folk tales in the form of stamps and First Day Cover and we hope that our customers will take this opportunity to add these unique stamps into their collection. Moreover, the production of these stamps supports Visit Malaysia 2007’s initiative of promoting our culture and traditions to our visitors from abroad. Thus, we would like to invite them to purchase the stamps and First Day Cover as a token of remembrance of Malaysia’s fascinating culture and tradition,” Dato’ Idrose added.

The stamps, 40mm X 30mm in size, are printed in sheets of 20 on SPM watermarked, phosphor coated paper and are available in strips of four, where each stamp denomination is 50sen featuring the following :

• Sang Kancil and the Crocodile
  Sang Kancil is known as the smartest animal in the jungle and this is the story about how he tricked the crocodiles. Eager to taste the fruits in the orchard on the other side of the river, he informed the crocodiles that Raja Sulaiman had ordered Sang Kancil to do a head count as he wanted to give them a gift. Sang Kancil ordered them to form a queue stretching until the other end of the shore. Deftly, he jumped on them until he crossed the river. Upon reaching the shore, he happily told the crocodiles that he had tricked them and there were no gifts forthcoming from Raja Sulaiman. The crocodiles became angry and until today bear a grudge.
  
• Sang Kancil Helps Kerbau
  This tale is about an ungrateful crocodile called Sang Bedal. Trapped under a tree, Sang Bedal's cries for help were heard by Sang Kerbau. Using his horns, Sang Kerbau freed the crocodile. The wily crocodile decided to make a meal of Sang Kerbau and swiftly captured the latter's leg. During the scuffle comes Sang Kancil, who cleverly devised a way to help Sang Kerbau. Feigning disbelief, he asks Sang Kerbau to demonstrate how he removed the tree off Sang Bedal. His leg freed from the crocodile, Sang Kerbau upon Sang Kancil's instructions dropped the tree back on the crocodile. The ungrateful Sang Bedal, who does not appreciate a good deed was trapped under the tree again.


• Bawang Putih Bawang Merah
  Once upon a time there was a girl named Bawang Merah who lived with her stepmother and stepsister named Bawang Putih who always abused her. One day, she heard the call of a carp fish from the well who wanted to help her. Unfortunately, her stepmother and stepsister found out. They caught the fish and cooked it. Bawang Merah's mother appeared in her dreams and told her about the fish. She told Bawang Merah to bury the fish bones. Bawang Merah buried them and amazingly, a tree attached with a golden swing grew before her eyes. One day while happily swinging on her golden swing, her melodious voice attracted the attention of a prince who eventually married her and they lived happily ever after.


• Badang
  Once there was a young man called Badang who discovered he was not able to catch any fish from the rivulet for the past three days. Realising that someone was stealing his fish, he decided to keep watch. At midnight, he saw a strange form with red shinning eyes and beard that reached to its stomach emerge and it quickly devoured his fish. Badang grew angry and rushed at the creature to kill it. Pleading for its life, it promised to make Badang strong by eating the fish he threw up and ran away. Still angry, Badang grabbed a huge branch and to his surprise, broke it easily. Eventually, Badang found he had great strength and used it to help the people. The King found out and appointed Badang as his warrior.

Another special feature of the new stamp collection is the Miniature Sheet, where the image is accented with silver hot stamping. The Miniature Sheet, 100mm x 70mm in size at RM5, features :

• Si Tanggang
  This story is about an ungrateful son called Si Tanggang and the consequences of his disloyalty to his parents. One day, Si Tanggang was captured and put to work on a ship. The Captain grew fond of him and eventually made him his son in-law as well as the ship's Captain. One day, caught in a storm, Captain Tanggang was forced to moor his ship in the village his parents lived. When they came to meet Si Tanggang, he was embarassed they looked so old and refused to acknowledge them. Saddened by her son’s behaviour, his mother cried out to the heavens. Suddenly lightning, strong wind and waves tore the ship to pieces. Captain Tanggang, his wife and crew turned into stone.

First Day Cover at 30sen each, Stamp Booklet at RM3.00 each and Presentation Pack at RM4.50 each, can be purchased at all post offices nationwide. Folders at RM5 each is only available at selected post offices.