The Kuala Lumpur 98 Games

The Kuala Lumpur 98 – XVI Commonwealth Games, from 11 to 21 September 1998, will see a total of 15 games. Since 1994 Pos Malaysia has portrayed these games in ‘Wira’ (games mascot) stances in the ‘gutter’ of each pre-issue.

The first pre-issue – XVI Commonwealth Games stamps in 1994 saw four new team events – cricket, hockey, netball and rugby. The stamps portrayed the map of Malaysia against the globe with the Sukom logo and ‘Wira’ – the official mascot.

The second pre-issue release in 1995 featured three game poses – athletics, boxing and badminton. The stamps incorporated seven sporting events against a dynamic Kuala Lumpur skyline while the other stamp showed seven other sporting events against a montage of the modern facilities available in Kuala Lumpur.

In 1996, the pre-issue concentrated on four individual events – weightlifting, gymnastics, shooting and cycling. The stamps portrayed four track and field events – track, hurdles, high jump and javelin.

The 1997 pre-issue culminates with the fourth and last pre-issue stamps for the XVI Commonwealth Games.

The four stamp designs for 1997 depict team sports – hockey, netball, cricket and rugby. The designs are artistically rendered in contrasting colours while highlighting the challenges and intensity of each team sport. At the same time they depict the team spirit of the Commonwealth countries. The ‘gutter’ depicts the ‘Wira’ mascot in four games poses – lawn bowls, squash, tenpin bowling and swimming.

The countdown is on – 300 days to the biggest sporting extravaganza in Malaysia – The Kuala Lumpur 98 Games.