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Malacca, St. John’s Fort
Everything about this 1991 card is Malacca: the card, the stamp, the postmark, the sender. Some latent but almost invisible creasing. Grade: 2
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Tioman Island, sunset
Hey, it could be anywhere, but it’s Tioman! This 5×7 card was mailed in 1990, has orange postal bar code on reverse, and is utterly unremarkable. It needs someone to love it. Grade: 3
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Durians
We wish this 5″ x 7″ card could be “scratch and sniff” but it’s not, so if you’re not sure about durians, you can do some research. Mailed in 1991, the postmark is blurry and the stamp is torn. Minor latent creasing on front. Grade: 4
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Welcome to Terengganu
A nice 5″ x 7″ card from an interesting state on Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast. Two mailed cards are available from 1991. One has a Terengganu stamp and partial postmark (Grade: 2, $6) and the other has a commemorative wasp stamp with partly legible postmark (Grade: 1, $6.50).
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Welcome to Pahang
Clean 5″ x 7″ card, mailed in 1991 from Pahang and with a Pahang stamp and almost full postmark. Really minor postal creasing evident on front. Grade: 2
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Shah Alam, Sultan Salahuddin Mosque
Three of these 5″ x 7″ cards are available. Two have a stamp and partial postmark. Clean fronts. (Grades: 2, $5) and the third has some creasing at corners but a full postmark (Grade: 3, $4).
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Oil palm
A staple and profitable commodity in Malaysia. This 5″ x 7″ card was mailed from Melaka in 1991, with stamp and mostly legible postmark. Grade: 1
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Malacca, Santiago Gate
From 1991, a 5″x 7″ card, clean front, stamp and full postmark on back, together with orange postal bar code on reverse bottom, and a slight other stain on reverse. It’s a good card. Grade: 3
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Kuala Lumpur, National Art Gallery
Another 5×7 card, mailed in 1990 with stamp commemorating International Literacy Year. Partial postmark, and those splotches on the front are part of the card, not stains!! Grade: 2
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Teh tarik (pulled tea)
Common in roadside stalls and small restaurants, this is one of Malaysia’s special little practices. The tea is good to drink, too. 5×7 card mailed in 1996, has Perak stamp and partial postmark. Grade: 2
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Langkawi, Pantai Kok
From 1991, with Perlis stamp (rare to see these) and full postmark, a 5×7 card from this popular holiday destination. Grade: 1
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Mt. Kinabalu and Kota Kinabalu Shangri-La Hotel
This 1991 card of one of Borneo’s highlights (the mountain, not the hotel) has an illegible postmark and slightly crumpled stamp, as well as minor edge crumpling, but the photos are clear. Grade: 3
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Kuala Lumpur, National Monument
The scan can’t show this mailed card (with stamp) too well because the base picture is surrounded by blank white for 3/4″ to more than 1″ on each side. A tiny caption on bottom front says “National Monument.” Grade: 3
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Kuala Lumpur, National Monument
In Lake Gardens, this monument reflects a turbulent period in the country’s history. Mailed in 1990, with Perak stamp and partly legible postmark. Some smudging on front. Grade: 3
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Kuala Lumpur, Lake Gardens, National Monument
How intensely ironic for Malaysians that the National Monument was designed by the American sculptor, Felix W. de Weldon. Maybe you need to have lived in Malaysia to understand why that is ironic. This card was mailed in the early 1990s, has a Negeri Sembilan stamp and partial postmark, as well as a bit of latent postal corner creasing. Grade: 2
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Kuala Lumpur, National Monument
Slightly larger card (4-3/8″ x 6″) mailed in 1991 with Selangor stamp and partial postmark. Grade: 3
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Penang Bridge by night
Mailed in 1991 from Jerteh, with a Terengganu stamp and partly legible postmark. Minor ink smudging on the front, and a bit of Wite-out on the back. Grade: 4
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Kuala Lumpur, Railway Station
Two cards are available. One was mailed in 1990, but only a bit of postmark made it to the opposite corner (Grade: 3, $3). The other was mailed in 1991 with commemorative wasp stamp and partial postmark (Grade: 3, $3). By the way, this is a wonderful old railroad station. The only problem is there really aren’t many places for trains to go.
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Penang, greetings
Card was mailed in 1991 and has Wilayah Persekutuan stamp and mostly legible postmark. Some latent postal creasing only. Grade: 2
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Borneo Greetings
It’s a lot cheaper to get this card than it is to fly to Borneo, trust us. The card was issued in about the 1980s by the Holiday Inn in Kuching. Unused, starting to age, but in excellent shape. We must verify availability of this card. Grade: 1
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Sarawak, Gunung Mulu National Park
We had the good fortune to visit this park in the 1980s, just after parts of it opened. What an astonishing adventure that was. At the time, we knew we were someplace remote. Unused card. Grade: 1
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Penang, Sea Food Village
Two cards are available, mailed six years apart. One from 1990 has a stamp and legible postmark (Grade: 2, $4). One from 1996 has much more writing, but also a commemorative stamp and large, mostly legible postmark (Grade: 2, $3.50). We must verify availability of these cards.
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Kuala Lumpur, Hilton Hotel kuih lapis
Unused postcard of a traditional Malaysian desert and a defunct Kuala Lumpur hotel. Grade: 2
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Kuala Lumpur, Hilton Hotel fruitcake
To their credit, the now-defunct Hilton Hotel in K.L. did not call fruitcake a “traditional Malaysian dessert.” They just left the caption off the card. Two cards from the 1980s are available. One is unused, aging on the reverse (Grade: 2, $2.50) and the other was mailed in 1983 with two stamps but no legible postmark (Grade: 1, $3).
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Kuala Lumpur, Hilton Hotel Paddock
In its day, the Hilton was arguably the greatest of the mass-market hotels in Malaysia. But it’s gone now. We remember some interesting times there. Four cards from the 1980s are available. One is unused (Grade: 1, $4). Three were mailed, each with two stamps and partial postmark (Grades: 2, $4.50).
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Malacca, Shah’s Beach Motel
Unused card from the mid-1980s. Grade: 1
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Shah Alam, Inst. Teknologi MARA
This card was issued by the school itself, and was mailed probably in the late 1980s. The stamp is there, and part of a postmark. Grade: 2
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Shah Alam, Inst. Teknologi MARA
This card was issued by the school itself, and was mailed probably in the late 1980s. The stamp is there, and part of a postmark. And if you’re interested, this building is Bangunan Kajian Perniagaan. Grade: 2
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Kuala Lumpur, Batu Caves art gallery
Maybe not “art” in a conventional western sense, but definitely art nonetheless. Nice card mailed in 1985 with three stamps and legible postmark, as well as blue “mel udara” (airmail) sticker affixed. Image of an American postmark on the front. Grade: 2
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Labuan, market greetings
Issued by the Lions Club of Labuan, this card was stamped (early 1990s) for mailing but there is no postmark at all. “Greetings from Labuan” is captioned on the reverse. Grade: 2
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Kuching, pepper plantation
Two S.W. Singapore cards K816, of one of (what was) Sarawak’s prime cash crops apart from wood, are available. One was mailed with three stamps in 1982 but there was no postmark (Grade: 4, $5). The other was mailed in 1987 with three different Sarawak stamps and full Kuching postmark (Grade: 1, $14).
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Kota Kinabalu, aerial view
From SRT Sdn Bhd, and beginning to age, this card was mailed from Hong Kong (not Malaysia) in 1983 with two stamps and full postmark. Grade: 4
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Kuala Lumpur, multiple views
Two of these are available. One was mailed in 1984 but the stamp has fallen off (Grade: 4, $3). The other was mailed in 1983, with three different stamps and legible postmark–a nice card overall (Grade: 1, $6.50)
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Malacca, Shah’s Beach Motel
Yes, even in Malaysia there are motels. The caption says this one has 600 years of tradition, but we don’t think the facility is that old. It just looked that way. Unused card from the late 1980s. Grade: 1
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Sarawak, ritual dance with human skulls
Eight unused and one mailed SW Singapore SR7909 cards are available, likely from the 1970s. This ritual is perfectly in keeping with Sarawak and other Borneo traditions but still it can be jarring to see it on a postcard, so we provide the complete caption: “Ritual dance by Dayak girls holding human skulls near a long-house, Sarawak 2nd Division, Sarawak, E. Malaysia”. We want to call these bizarre postcards but they do represent a living theme so we will call them cultural postcards instead. The eight unused cards: Grades: 1, $39. The other card was mailed in 1984 with three different stamps but no readable postmark; corner battering, and creasing, and blue airmail sticker affixed: Grade: 3, $35.
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Sarawak, Dayak beauties rowing canoe on the river
The kind of photo we used to hope National Geographic would have. But you don’t need to wait that long. Unused SW Singapore card KC7495 from the 1970s or earlier, beginning to age, otherwise undamaged. Grade: 2
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Sarawak, Land Dayak bamboo cutter
Two of these are available, identical photos but different pubisher’s index numbers. One is unused SW Singapore card KC7341, from the 1980s or earlier, starting to age–like fine bamboo wine (Grade: 2, $6). The other bears index number 608 and was mailed with a Sarawak stamp in 1990 (Grade: 1, $8).
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Sarawak, cock fighting
Captioned as “a popular pastime of the Dayaks” on the reverse of this unused SW Singapore postcard KC7494, which is actually a Borneo postcard. Grade: 1
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Sarawak River, boat racing
The unused but aging SW Singapore card KC8006 shows a busy day on the river, with Kuching in the background. Grade: 2
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Penang, repairing a boat
Unused Abdul Majeed card 88.100.94 267961 from the 1980s. Grade: 1