Malaysia 2013 World Post Day - Poskad

World Post Day marks the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union’s establishment in October 9^th, 1874 in Bern, Switzerland. 

In 1969 during UPU Congress in Tokyo, Japan, October 9^th was declared World Post Day.  Since then, World Post Day is celebrated all over the world to highlight the importance of the postal service. 

The Universal Postal Union ( UPU, French: Union Postale Universelle ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration ( CA ), the Postal Operations Council ( POC ) and the International Bureau ( IB ). It also oversees two cooperatives including the Telematics and EMS Cooperatives respectively. Each member agrees to the same terms for conducting international postal duties. The UPU’s headquarters are located in Bern, Switzerland.

Prior to the establishment of the UPU, each country had to prepare a separate postal treaty with other nations it wished to carry international mail to or from. In some cases, senders would have to calculate postage for each leg of a journey, and potentially find mail forwarders in a third country if there was no direct delivery.

To simplify the complexity of this system, the United States called for an International Postal Congress in 1863. This led Heinrich von Stephan, Royal Prussian and later German Minister for Posts, to found the Universal Postal Union. It is currently the third oldest international organization after the Rhine Commission and the ITU. The UPU was created in 1874, initially under the name "General Postal Union", as a result of the Treaty of Bern signed on October 9, 1874. Four years later, the name was changed to "Universal Postal Union."

After the foundation of the United Nations, the UPU became a specialized agency of the UN in 1948. 

The UPU established that:

1. There should be a uniform flat rate to mail a letter anywhere in the world

2. Postal authorities should give equal treatment to foreign and domestic mail

3. Each country should retain all money it has collected for international postage.

The graphics on the postcard are recycled from the Old Post Offices issued on 9^th October 2010.

Technical Details

Date of Issue : 09.10.2013

Post Card : RM1.00 x 14