13. Malaya Japanese Occupation Definitive Series 3 Cent

     Hi all. I have here  a piece of Japanese stamp, that was used in Malaya during the Japanese Occupation. This stamp was issued in Selangor in 1943. The whole set consists of 10 pieces; 1 cent, 2 cent, 3 cent, 4 cent, 8 cent, 10 cent, 15 cent, 30 cent, 50 cent and 70 cent. 7 pieces left to complete my set.

    The stamp shows a rubber tapper (maybe an Indian based on his skin color) in a rubber plantation. If this stamp was imported from Japan, do they designed this stamp specifically for Malaya? or Japan also did plant rubber?

   Rubber, until now, is very synonym to Malaysia as rubber used to be our major export. Do not sure about the current situation. My grandfather used to have a decent-size rubber plantation, and income from rubber-tapping made my grandfather among the rich guy at our kampung. My father told me, when he was 12 years old, the whole kampung used to gather at our house just to watch television together. During that time, television is a kind of luxury.

    My grandfather was a rubber tapper once, before he went to government service. My father also did rubber tapping, even during his teenage years to support his 13-siblings family. I still remember my father had shown me a big scar in his arm due to rubber-tapping blade. Unfortunately, I have escaped the rubber-tapping chain. I am quite sad that I do not know how to rubber-tap. Have you try rubber-tapping before?