Shabahat Ali Khan, 82, yang mendakwa setem itu memiliki "nilai sejarah yang sukar ditemui", memulakan hobi menyimpan setem sejak berusia tujuh tahun.
Suatu ketika dulu, Pulau Pinang merupakan pangkalan penting British di Asia Tenggara, yang memiliki, apa yang beliau sifatkan dalam istilah hari ini sebagai "hub" yang memainkan peranan penting dalam urusan perdagangan empayar British di Asia.
Walaupun setem berkenaan dicetak dan dikeluarkan di India, yang ketika itu menjadi pusat utama empayar British, tetapi ia mempunyai cop pejabat pos Pulau Pinang, kata Khan dalam temubual dengan Bernama di sini.
Berdasarkan resit yang berada dalam simpanannya, Khan membeli sampul surat bersetem itu daripada Rigby Postal History Auctions di Bournemouth, England, pada 1961.
Rigby Postal History Auctions mengesahkan surat berkenaan dipos ke London pada 1857 dan tertera padanya cop perkataan "four anna" (nilai mata wang India pada zaman pemerintahan penjajah Inggeris) serta cop pos dengan perkataan "PENANG/P.O." berwarna merah.
Selain Pulau Pinang, Singapura juga memainkan peranan penting dalam pembangunan sistem perkhidmatan pos British di luar India.
British memperkenalkan sistem pos di Singapura dengan menubuhkan pejabat pos India di republik itu.
"Singapura adalah bandar tertua di Asia Tenggara dan pejabat pos India mempunyai peranan penting di sana," kata Khan.
Mengumpul setem bukan sekadar sejenis hobi di kebanyakan negara Eropah, malah merupakan suatu kegemaran yang menjana pendapatan lumayan melalui penjualan setem dan artifak lama lain yang dianggap sukar ditemui.
Koleksi pelbagai jenis artifak lama yang berada dalam simpanan Khan -- daripada setem unik terbitan tahun 1851, termasuk setem awal yang dikeluarkan oleh Syarikat Hindia Timur British, hinggalah kepada Quran bertulisan tangan yang dihasilkan pada tahun 1266 Hijrah dan patung Buddha berusia 2,000 tahun -- membuat kediamannya kelihatan seperti sebuah muzium kecil.
Khan, warga Jerman yang berasal dari India, pernah bertugas dalam perkhidmatan diplomatik British India. Pertukarannya ke beberapa negara seperti Ceylon (kini Sri Lanka), Iran dan Jerman, mendedahkan dirinya kepada pelbagai budaya.
Semasa bertugas di negara berkenaanlah beliau mengambil kesempatan untuk mengumpul pelbagai artifak. Beliau amat terpesona dengan sejarah Tanah Melayu dan tidak pernah jemu menghayatinya.
"Golongan kaya mudah mendapatkan artifak dengan wang yang mereka miliki dan mengikuti aliran semasa.
"Tapi, saya berasa amat bahagia apabila dapat mengumpul artifak seperti ini dan menyimpannya untuk diwarisi oleh anak cucu saya nanti," kata Khan.
Peminat setem ini berkata beliau dihubungi baru-baru ini oleh sebuah syarikat lelongan antarabangsa, yang berminat terhadap setem yang dikumpulnya.
-- BERNAMA
Rare, Old Penang Postage Stamp With Frankfurt-based Collector.
By Manik Mehta
FRANKFURT, May 16 (Bernama) -- An envelope posted from Penang in what was formerly Malaya during the British colonial rule is now in the proud possession of a Frankfurt-based artifacts collector who describes the stamp on it as a "beauty".
The philatelist, 82-year-old Shabahat Ali Khan, who claims that the stamp is of "rare historic value", has been collecting stamps since he was seven years old.
"Penang was an important post of the British in Southeast Asia, and provided what we would describe in today's logistics jargon as a feeder centre that played an important role in the British empire's colossal trade in Asia.
Although the stamp itself was printed and issued in India, which was then the nerve centre of the British empire, it has the postal mark of Penang's post office, Khan said in an interview with Bernama in Frankfurt.
Khan purchased the stamped envelope from the Rigby Postal History Auctions in Bournemouth, England, in 1961, according to a receipt issued to him by that body.
The Rigby Postal History Auctions certified that the letter was mailed in 1857 to London, franked with a four anna (the Indian currency denomination during the British colonial rule) stamp which bears the "PENANG/P.O." postal stamp in red.
Besides Penang in Malaya, Singapore also played an important role in the development of the British postal system outside of India.
The British started the postal system in Singapore by setting up Indian post offices in that city.
"Singapore was the oldest town in Southeast Asia and the Indian post offices played a functional role there," Khan said.
Philatelic is not just a hobby in many European countries; for many, it has also turned out to be a passion that is equally lucrative, considering the fabulous prices which rare stamps and other artifacts can fetch.
Khan's collection of all kinds of artifacts -- ranging from rare specimens of stamps issued in 1851, including the first stamps introduced by the British East India Company, through an old hand-written copy of the Quran dating back to 1266 (Hijrah, the Muslim calendar year) to a 2,000-year-old statue of the Buddha that belongs to the Gandhara art -- gives his residence a quaint museum-like appearance.
Khan, a German citizen of Indian origin, was in the diplomatic service of then British India. His postings in places such as Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Persia (Iran) and Germany brought him into contact with several cultures.
In the course of his foreign postings, he also acquired all kinds of artifacts. He is "simply enchanted" by the history of Malaya about which he never seems to get tired.
"It is easy for rich people to buy artifacts with their money and follow the prevalent fads that are in vogue.
"But in my case, it has been my life's biggest passion to collect such artifacts and maintain them for posterity," asserted Khan who confirmed that he was recently contacted by an international auction house interested in his stamp collection.
-- BERNAMA
