“For pictures on the stamps, I used surili [the Javan leaf monkey], the mascot of the 2016 PON. There are a total of 12 sports portrayed by the surili,” said stamp designer Anwar Firdaus on the sidelines of the launch of the stamp series at the Bandung Post Office recently.

Surili is an Old World monkey native to areas in West Java. Scheduled to be held in September in Bandung, West Java, the 2016 PON will cover 64 sports.

PT Pos Indonesia are offering four types of philatelic products: a mini sheet consisting of 12 stamps, a first day envelope with three stamps, a souvenir sheet with one stamp and one gold medal printed on the side of the stamp, and 14 post cards.

PT Pos Indonesia’s vice president for philately and consignment, Munawar Ainy, said the issuance of the 2016 PON official stamp was interesting in an era heavily saturated with internet communication. “Philately as a hobby has been continuously in decline. It has become a challenge for us to encourage young people to grow their interest in philately."

PT Pos Indonesia further says the number of 2016 PON official stamps issued is very limited. “There are only 50,000 pieces of mini sheets. We made them very limited to maintain their economic values for collectors,” said Munawar.

All stamps issued in every country are registered at Universal Postal Union (UPU), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. (ebf)

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