History bits to celebrate my 1st Blogosversary!

How time flies when one is blogging! To think this newbie had to have the ABC's of blogging taught to me by my friend, Emily. And a few months down the road, Blog4ft came along and I just dived in to take my blogging to another level. Really, I wanted to write more and better. Hopefully also to win prizes too -which I did. All this and more happened within a space of 365 days. I made new friends on the blogosphere. I 'travel' the world to say 'hello' to you now and again and at home, in Malaysia, some friends are just round the corner. Blogging for FT, I had a chance meeting with Mahsa from Iran who was visiting Thean Hou Temple. On that sunny day, our paths crossed and we are corresponding. How nice! So, it's been a kind of a whirlwind journey. A year is about to pass ( March Thursday, 12th, to be exact) . I thought I'd better be early so friends will know that I'm celebrating !!

Thank you, dear friends wherever you are.

Over the Chinese New Year, my husband found his whole collection of first day covers and stamps in the cupboard of his brother's house. Thank goodness his childhood treasures are safe! Having left Taiping and moved on , things got left behind. But to have them with him again was a big 'ang pow'!

As a young lad growing up in serene Taiping, hubby had many hobbies. He kept many pets like budgies, dogs, fishes -goldfish and fighting fish. All of them have passed on but his priceless collections stay. Among the first day covers there are some from India and Indonesia too. As for the stamp albums (one has gone astray), the stamps range from A -Z countries of the world.

Looking at hubby's collection, the oldest first day cover belongs to the commemorative stamp on MERDEKA! Indeed, 31 August, 1957 is fresh as ever. We will be 53 years old as a nation come this August. That great leap that propelled the nation to independence is always cherished. I hope we let unity be our strength and never falter on that. And we can be sure that Tunku, our great statesman, our Father of Independence would want nothing less of his people. By the way, how old were you or even us when history was in the making? Just say, we are now proud parents of 3 big kids and not in any hurry to get to 100!!

Do browse through the first day covers. At random, I've picked a few to show my readers. Our country has certainly made great, monumental strides since achieving independence. Historical events escape the mind so easily as the years fly past and their historical significance get blur.

Seeing Eleanor Roosevelt on the first day cover is something of a 'discovery'! It is the first time I've ever seen a non - Malaysian on our first day cover! What about you? I'm glad of the recognition accorded her - a true citizen of the world.

These collectibles occupied a good part of a little boy's growing up years. To him, it was the passion to own bits of history on small squares of paper/envelopes. And the joy to accumulate knowledge.

It was at the 3rd World Orchid Conference at the annual Chelsea Flower Show, that the Malayan Orchid Society's exhibit came into prominence. The bright and gay tones of the Malayan orchids literally opened the eyes of the thousands who visited the exhibit. The queue in front was 12 deep and jammed tight hour after hour for the duration of the show. With this success, Singapore was the asked to host the 4th World Orchid Conference . It was declared open by the H.E. the Yang di- Pertuan Negara on Tuesday, 8th October, 1963.

Shortly after the death of Eleanor Roosevelt 0n November 7, 1962, the late president JF Kennedy appointed Adlai E. Stevenson chairman of a distinguished group of Americans eager to keep alive the work and memory of the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation to continue those interests which Mrs Roosevelt had dedicated her life.

After her husband's death in 1945, Mrs Roosevelt expected to retire to private life. Instead, she began a career which earned her the name of 'First Lady of the World'.

As a member of the Commission of Human Rights and a member of the General Assembly of the UN, and a volunteer worker for the Americans Assoc of the UN, she began a series of world travel that took her to England and the Far East, including trips to Russia. Of special concern to her were international peace, the establishment of equal rights for minorities and the ceaseless battle against world hunger and disease. She was the Architect of the 'Declaration of the Human Rights'.

At its meeting on the 30th July, 1957, the then Executive Council agreed in principle that the Federation government should make a substantial contribution towards the construction of a National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur as a gift from the peope to Tunku Abdul Rahman , then Chief Minister, in appreciation of his services in leading the coutry towards independence.

It was to be named 'Masjid Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra but upon the request of Tunku himself, to this day, we know it as Masjid Negara (National Mosque).

The mosque was designed and supervised by the architects and design research branches, Federal Public Works Dept. It took over 3 years to build at a cost of $10,000,000.

Public donations have been received from people of all races and religions in the country. The mosque, in fact symbolizes the goodwill and brotherhood of the people.

The National Monument has been described by the Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman as ' a symbol of the eternal gratitude of the people of Malaya for the devotion and patriotism of all those brave men and women who suffered and died in the twelve long years of the Emergency'.

The well -known American sulptor -cum-painter, Mr Felix W. de Weldon designed the Monument and Italian craftsmen were employed to turn out the bronze seven statues.

The topmost figure of a man symbolizes leadership as he holds a flag which itself is the symbol of unity and strength as well as of the ideals of the country

On each side of the figure are 2 powerful men of the Security Forces who fought against the odds to win.

In the centre front a man is aiding and giving comfort to a wounded soldier whose facial expression portrays his suffering.

Penang Free School was the 1st English school and the oldest in Malaysia. The founder, Reverend R.S. Hutchings, the Colonial Chaplain of Penang, wanted Penang Free School to be a secular institution open to all children of all races and religion. That was the reason to name it Penang Free School.

The products of the Penang Free School have played a prominent role in the moulding of the nation.The noted alumni include national leaders such as The Third Yang di Pertuan Agong and Tunku, Tan Sr P. Ramlee, Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, 2nd Chief Minister of Penang and many others.

Penang Free School has a great tradition in training its students of all races to live, learn and play together -to achieve a plural society for the prosperity of the nation

Bank Negara Malaysia was established on January 26, 1959 , under the Central Bank of Malaysia Ordinance, 1958.

The principal objectives of the bank are as follows:

1. to issue currency in the federation and to keep reserves safeguarding the value of the currency

2. to act as a banker and financial advisor to the Government

3. to promote monetary stability and a sound financial structure and

4. to influence the credit situaton to the advantage of the federation

Bank Negara assumed the sole currency issuing authority in Malaysia on June 12, 1967. Prior to June 12, 1967, currency in Malaysia was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo, which was also the currency issuing authority in Singapore and Brunei.

This project was the largest in South East Asia and was completed in a period of 30 months at a cost of $52 million. The opening of this airport meant that all airlines would be able to include Kuala Lumpur in their schedules.

The new airport connected to Kuala Lumpur 14 miles away . The civil engineering works were designed by the Public Works Dept. The site was ideal as there were no obstructions in the vicinity and the orientation of the runway fitted in perfectly with the prevailing winds from the South West and the North East. The site preparation involved the removal of a village to a new location and the clearing of 500 acres of rubber trees and the excavation of 6 1/2 million cubic yards of soil.