SIBU, March 10: The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is not just affecting businesses in essential sectors but also those related to hobbies.
Sarawak Philatelic and Numismatic Society president John Goh said collectors of old currency, stamps and phone cards hardly made any sales since the first Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 18 last year.
“We could not organise our thrice a year sales and exhibition for almost a year now. Without this event, it is difficult to ignite interest among the public on collectable items,” he said.
The event which is usually held at shopping malls usually sees the participation of about 10 of the society’s members in Sibu and Sarikei, and has been held for the past 20 years. At times, the event draws collectors from elsewhere such as Singapore, Miri and Brunei as participants.
This year marks the first time in the society’s history that such an event has not been held.
“Like myself. Though I can open my shop during this Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), I prefer not to as I will have to follow the strict standard operating procedure (SOP) such as having a body temperature scanning device, MySejahtera code, a logbook for people to register their particulars and hand sanitiser,” Goh added.
Goh said he preferred not to open his shop even though there were some prospective buyers.
“Recently one guy called me up but I told him straightaway that my shop is closed,” he said.
He noted that as the resellers have been inactive all this time, the public had been logging on to social media to find desired collectible items.
“A word of caution (for buyers). It is advisable to be cautious as sellers in Facebook are usually selling them at sky high prices. Also some of them could be scammers,” he advised. — DayakDaily
