“OUR beloved Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah has just passed away“. The words hit me like a tonne of bricks. I look at the screen on my phone in disbelief. Then, a flurry of messages come flooding in, causing my phone to start behaving like an alarm clock as it rings incessantly.
Still fixated on the first message sent by my friend Rakesh Ram, I take a few minutes to reflect on the recent events involving the only Sultan many Kedahans, like me, have known their entire lives. I find the news hard to believe as Sultan Abdul Halim had just ended his historic second term as our nation’s Yang di-Pertuan Agong barely nine months ago.
Met upon his return to the state by crowds overflowing onto the roads leading to the airport in Kepala Batas, it was the wish of everyone at that time for their beloved monarch to continue ruling the state for many more years to come.
I turn up at Rakesh’s home in Taman Derga Jaya the next day as we both plan to head over to Istana Anak Bukit to pay our final respects. Although the public are only allowed entry into the Balai Penghadapan Baru from 11am onwards, Rakesh had specifically asked me to be an hour early, saying that he had something interesting to show me.
A thick hardcover book lands on the table in front of me containing colour photocopies of a collection belonging to a close friend of Rakesh. My curiosity is piqued after reading the title 50 Years of Kedah Revenue Stamps: 1912 — 1962.
If I remember my history well, this book holds the promise of a philatelic journey that chronicles the reign of three monarchs who ruled Kedah in the 20th century.
REVENUE STAMPS
The collection is separated into several sections commencing with the state’s inaugural postage stamp issue in 1912. My confusion about the inclusion of postage stamps in the collection is cleared by the elaborate explanation on the introduction page.
In general, revenue stamps are adhesive labels used by the authorities to collect taxes and fees. In the past, private individuals and business enterprises purchased these stamps from the post office and affixed them onto forms as part of making them legally binding documents.
The illustrations on the page show that revenue stamps look very similar to postage stamps and, like most states in Malaya during the early 20th century, Kedah postage stamps were made valid for revenue purposes by the inclusion of the words “POSTAGE & REVENUE” into the design.
The 1912 definitive issue was made up of three separate designs, each portraying a distinctive feature of the Malay character of the state. The ones bearing the five lower cents values depicted the image of a sheaf of padi while the higher cents values (10 cents, 20 cents, 30 cents, 40 cents and 50 cents) showed a Malay man ploughing a rice field. Both these designs reflected upon the state‘s eminent position as the rice bowl of the country.
The historically-important Balai Besar formed the design of the four separate dollar values. This impressive building, constructed in 1898 with hard wood and wrought iron forming its structure, was an interesting subject choice as it had been the scene of the ceremony which brought Kedah under British suzerainty following the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909.
The steps leading to the Balai Penghadapan (Audience Chamber) where the signing took place can be seen clearly in the engraving. It‘s in this very same building, which still stands proudly in the heart of Alor Star’s historic quarter, where Sultan Abdul Halim was installed on Feb 20, 1959, in a ceremony steeped in tradition, not seen since the early 18th century.
I continue flipping the pages, each time encountering neatly written and well illustrated pages which fill me with amazement. I had no idea so many different types of stamps and fiscal rates existed in the past. Without a doubt, the revenue stamps make the otherwise plain-looking documents look very attractive.
STAMPING THEIR VALUE
The long-awaited set featuring the first Kedah ruler featured on both postage and revenue stamps made its appearance in 1937. This truly magnificent set featuring Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah was indeed a worthy successor to the earlier “Malay ploughing” and “Balai Besar“ designs.
At this point in time, Rakesh points out that there were already talks of such a stamp issue in the late 1920s but proposals were abandoned as there was objection that the used stamps were likely to be thrown to the ground and unwittingly trodden upon, an insult to the monarch.
“Even after the decision was made to produce the set, it was reported that Sultan Abdul Hamid rejected quite a number of designs, deeming them unsuitable,” explains Rakesh, emphasising the irony that the stamps were only put on sale after the onset of the illness from which the Sultan never recovered.
Sultan Abdul Hamid lived until 1943 but it’s quite certain that due to his poor health the monarch did not have the opportunity to fully appreciate the dignity and beauty given by his stamps and their enduring appeal to philatelists.
Although Sultan Badlishah succeeded the throne upon the passing of his father, Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, but like his father, the monarch experienced a long interval between ascending the throne in 1943 and seeing his portrait on the stamps of his state. It was not until June 1, 1950 that a set of 15 stamps bearing the word “MALAYA” at the top and the state name in Jawi and English at the bottom was issued.
Although these stamps no longer had the word “REVENUE”, they were still valid for fiscal purposes. These “small-sized” stamps are shown used in no less than 20 documents in the book with one bearing probably the largest known blocks of $1, $2 and $5 values. The clerk must be commended for patiently affixing adhesives with value totalling in excess of $100 on both sides of the document when several higher value stamps would have sufficed.
At this juncture, Rakesh interjects saying that perhaps the office had run out of the high value Sultan Badlishah revenue stamps. I concur with the possibility of his deduction as the $25, $100 and $250 value stamps were printed in far fewer numbers compared to their lower denominated counterparts.
Despite the fact that Sultan Badlishah only ruled Kedah for 15 years, his reign saw many momentous events that changed the landscape of the country permanently. Before passing away peacefully on July 13, 1958, the Kedah monarch oversaw, among others, the end of the Second World War, introduction of the British Military Administration, the shortlived Malayan Union and, probably most important of all, the Independence of the Federation of Malaya.
COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS
In conjunction with Merdeka, an attractive pictorial definitive set was issued at intervals prior to August 31, 1957. As a show of unity, the “Merdeka” definitive stamp designs were common to each of the eleven states forming the Federation. The set comprised 11 values and those for Kedah featured the portrait of Sultan Badlishah.
On July 1, 1959, these “Merdeka” definitive stamps began appearing in Kedah bearing the portrait of the newly-installed ruler, Sultan Abdul Halim.
Apart from the portrait change, the other features of the stamps, including the design, remained unchanged.
The designs were specially selected to represent the uniqueness of each of the eleven states. For example, the rice fields in the 4c stamp was most certainly created with Kedah in mind. The others included weaving (Kelantan), copra (Penang), fishing (Trengganu), pineapple (Johor), Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Selangor), Masjid Alwi (Perlis), East Coast Railway (Pahang), bersilat (Negri Sembilan), tiger (Perak) and Aborigines with blow-pipes (Melaka).
Rakesh and I find the Melaka representation to be most unusual. Fortunately, a footnote in the book explains that although Melaka had been influenced by European culture longer than any other state in the Federation, the fact remained that Melaka was, at that time, home to a fair number of Aborigines who followed their own way of life.
The last chapter in the book is reserved for the stamp issued to commemorate the installation of Sultan Abdul Halim as the 28th Sultan of Kedah on Feb 20 1959. Although this single adhesive with an assigned 10 cent value was never known to have been used as a revenue stamp, I feel that it‘s indeed a befitting end to a book that chronicles not only the state‘s philatelic history but also the reigns of three of its most illustrious rulers.
Rakesh is about to keep the book when he pauses momentarily. Then, he turns to me and remarks solemnly: “Perhaps it is better for us to bring this along. It‘ll be great if we can make a quick stop at Balai Besar on our way back later. We should spend some time there to reflect upon the past, especially our beloved Sultan Abdul Halim.”
I put on a brave face and place an understanding hand on his shoulder as we head out to partake in the events that would surely be remembered as one of the saddest days in Kedah’s history.