THE next generation of Malaysians is keeping the hobby of stamp collecting alive.

Thanks to school engagements conducted by Pos Malaysia Berhad and guidance by parents, there has been an increase in interest among the youngsters of today.

So far, 341 schools from 14 states in the country have set up stamp clubs and registered with the postal company.

From 2014 to 2016, the number of Standing Order Deposit Account (Soda) members saw an increase of 15,844 new membership, including from primary and secondary school stamp clubs.

Last year alone, 9,618 students registered for Soda.

Law student Muhammad Azhar Udin, 25, was one of the many youths who was drawn to stamp collecting during Pos Malaysia’s visit to his boarding school in Negri Sembilan when he was 14.

“The stamp club was the first club in my school to be based on a hobby,” he recalled.

Pow's stamp collection includes a series on Princess Diana.

He joined the club and fell hard for hunting stories about the stamps he would find. While collecting new issues every month through Soda, he also participated in stamp exhibitions although his first one was “by accident.”

“I thought it was like a drawing competition to show the wonders of Malaysia through stamps, so I submitted my entry of a drawing of a homestay picture in a stamp.

“Then I received a letter inviting me to a workshop for the National Stamp Exhibition,” he said, adding that he learned the proper way to exhibit a collection from there.

“Taking part in such exhibitions helped me learn more about Malaysia and improve my English as well,” he said.

“Right now, I am collecting Malaysian stamps for my exhibition entitled 1Malaysia and I plan to collect more on postal history covers to improve my collection on Selangor postal history,” he said.

Azhar said his family was supportive of his hobby and his younger siblings had also started collecting stamps.

“When I was researching for my first exhibition, I found my mother’s old stamp album and discovered she was into the hobby too,” he said.

For Pow Hui Xin, 15, her love for stamps is attributed to her father.

She was 10 when she began watching her father collect stamps and that quickly drew her attention. Her father has been a stamp collector since the 1960s.

Pow participated in her first exhibition at 10, and has since taken part in exhibitions overseas, in Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan, receiving silver and bronze medals for her work.

The hobby has become valuable bonding time for the family.

The teenager collects mostly Malaysian stamps and first day covers but her favourite are Harry Potter stamps.

Her father, who travels a lot, would always be on the lookout for stamps to give Hui Xin, sometimes spending thousands of ringgit on limited editions.

Her mother, Ng Geok Yoon, a teacher, said Pos Malaysia visited her school and she later took charge of establishing a stamp club. Its membership has grown from the initial 20 students to 45 now.

As a family, Ng said they would visit post offices in any country they visit on their travels.

The Pow family keep all their stamps in books, some wrapped in plastic covers and tucked into plastic boxes to preserve their condition.