Animal Thematic Postage Stamps: State Narratives from the Colonial to the Postcolonial

ANIMAL THEMATIC POSTAGE STAMPS: STATE NARRATIVES FROM THE COLONIAL TO THE POSTCOLONIAL KAY SHIN YAN CULTURAL CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR University of Malaya 2019 ANIMAL THEMATIC POSTAGE STAMPS: STATE NARRATIVES FROM THE COLONIAL TO THE POSTCOLONIAL KAY SHIN YAN DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (VISUAL ART) CULTURAL CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR University2019 of Malaya UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION Name of Candidate: KAY SHIN YAN Matric No: ROD 160002 Name of Degree: MASTER OF ARTS Title of Project Paper/Research Report/Dissertation/Thesis (“this Work”): ANIMAL THEMATIC POSTAGE STAMPS: STATE NARRATIVES FROM THE COLONIAL TO THE POSTCOLONIAL Field of Study: VISUAL ART I do solemnly and sincerely declare that: (1) I am the sole author/writer of this Work; (2) This Work is original; (3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by way of fair dealing and for permitted purposes and any excerpt or extract from, or reference to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have been acknowledged in this Work; (4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work; (5) I hereby assign all and yevery ofrights in Malayathe copyright to this Work to the University of Malaya (“UM”), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this Work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and obtained; (6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action or any other action as may be determined by UM. Candidate’s Signature Date: Universit Subscribed and solemnly declared before, Witness’s Signature Date: Name: Designation: ii ANIMAL THEMATIC POSTAGE STAMPS: STATE NARRATIVES FROM THE COLONIAL TO THE POSTCOLONIAL ABSTRACT This research exemplifies the postage stamps as part of the visual culture that facilitates the State narratives. It explores visual representations of animal thematic postage stamps that has so far been issued in North Borneo, Sarawak, British Malaya and Malaysia. Since animal thematic stamps were introduced in the colonial era and persisted into the postcolonial era, this research aims to record and analyse the change of visual representations in both main subject matter (animals) and periphery of the subjects (decorative art and languages). It demonstrates how decorative elements evolved across eras as well as how the animals being represented in official disseminations, which consequently reflect that the ways of seeing animals are culturally or socio-politically specific. More than hundreds of animal thematic stamps that has so far been issued in Malaysia, included different definitives, commemorative stamps or special issues have been examined ranged from years 1867 to 1991. In order to get a bigger picture on the visual changes, the researcher looked and compared the animal stamps between different nations, as well as studied the different thematic stamps issued within the nation. Besides that, all animal thematic stamps of Malaysia that issued before 1992 are rearranged in differentUniversity categories to understand the selection of tendency Malaya of subject matters. Following that, this research is conducted in 2 phases. First phase is the data collection / background studies via digitalised databases as well as museum, archive centre and library visits. Second is the theoretical analysis and visual methodologies. This research reflects the visions of the Federal governments in different eras and reveals how the visual culture contributes to the formation of colonial or national identities. iii Keywords: Malaysia, postage stamps of animals, state narratives, colonial stamps, postcolonial stamps. University of Malaya iv SETEM POS BERTEMA HAIWAN: NARATIF NEGERI DARI KOLONIAL KE PASCAKOLONIAL ABSTRAK Kajian penyelidikan ini menunjukkan setem pos adalah sebahagian daripada budaya visual yang dipergunakan untuk memudahkan naratif Negeri (State). Kajian ini turut meneroka penyampaian visual setem pos yang bertemakan haiwan di Borneo Utara, Sarawak, British Malaya serta Malaysia. Sedangkan setem bertema haiwan diperkenalkan semenjak era kolonial dan berterusan ke era pascakolonial, maka kajian penyelidikan ini bertujuan untuk merekod dan menganalisis perubahan penyampaian visual di antara subjek utama (haiwan) dan subjek sampingan (seni hiasan dan bahasa). Ia menunjukkan bagaimana unsur-unsur hiasan berubah secara berperingkat sepanjang zaman serta pelbagai cara penyampaian haiwan dalam produk rasmi, yang bakal mencerminkan cara- cara kita menterjemah haiwan adalah khususnya di bawah pengaruhan, budaya atau sosio- politik. Lebih daripada ratusan setem bertemakan haiwan yang pernah dikeluarkan di Malaysia dari tahun 1867 hingga 1991, termasuk pelbagai jenis setem yang merangkumi setem definitif, setem peringatan atau isu khas telah dikaji. Penyelidik meneliti dan membandingkan setem haiwan antara negeri yang berbeza, serta mengkaji setem yang berlainan tema dalam negara untuk mendapatkan gambaran yang lebih besar mengenai perubahanUniversity visual secara umun. Selain itu,of setem Malaya bertemakan haiwan yang pernah dikeluarkan di Malaysia dikumpul dan disusun semula kategori yang berbeza untuk mengkaji faktor pemilihan. Sehubungan itu, kajian ini dijalankan dalam 2 fasa. Frasa pertama adalah pengumpulan data / kajian latar belakang melalui data digital atas talian serta lawatan muzium, pusat arkib dan perpustakaan. Fasa kedua ialah analisis teoritis dan metodologi visual. v Penyelidikan ini mencerminkan visi kerajaan-kerajaan Persekutuan yang didukung dalam era yang berbeza serta mendedahkan bagaimana budaya visual menyumbang kepada pembentukan identiti kolonial ataupun identity kebangsaan. Kata-kata Kunci: Malaysia, setem pos haiwan, narative Negeri, setem kolonial, setem pascakolonial. University of Malaya vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is a long writing journey. I would like to thank Cultural Centre as well as express my greatest gratitude to both of my supervisors, Dr. Geneviève Gamache and Dr. Simon Soon. They taught me to be a researcher, to write properly and to think critically when dealing with massive unfamiliar information. Their comments lead me a different way to apprehend things and theories. Special thanks to the committee members – Dr. Emelia Ong, Dr. Roslina Ismail and Dr. Luqman Lee for the constructive feedbacks during my presentations. Besides that, I would like to grab this opportunity to sincerely thanks every individual who has contributed to this dissertation whether in direct or indirect ways. First of all, I am much appreciated to get know with all the friendly members of Philatelic Society of Malaysia (PSM). I also wish to thank the Malayan Study Group (MSG) for their persistence in publishing The Malayan Philatelist. They teach me some basic philatelic knowledge and the passionate about stamps collection. Moreover, I am indebted to the blogger or stamp collector from “my North Borneo stamps” blog for granting me the permission to reuse his/her private collection’s images in the research. Thanks to my peers who willing to share their writing experiences to us. I feel grateful to have friends to talk with, even only occasionally, to exchange our research progress and motivate among each other that you are not alone in the journey. Last but not least, myUniversity deepest appreciation goes to my family ofmembers Malayaand my fiancé. They are my greatest buoyant force that keeping me afloat against the pressures and challenges. Thanks for their supports along the time, though they might not really understand my research topic. This research might not be the perfect writing, nevertheless, I am truly appreciated for everyone who provide helping hands to me so that I can accomplish my writing mission. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ANIMAL THEMATIC POSTAGE STAMPS: STATE NARRATIVES FROM THE COLONIAL TO THE POSTCOLONIAL Abstract ........................................................ iii SETEM POS BERTEMA HAIWAN: NARATIF NEGERI DARI KOLONIAL KE PASCAKOLONIAL Abstrak............................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xi List of Tables.................................................................................................................. xvi List of Symbols and Abbreviations ............................................................................... xvii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background of Research .......................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 The States and the Formation of Postal Department

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