buying malaysia medals in kula lumpur? help!

[khorgor]

Hi guys.

I'm off to KL in Malaysia this year for a little holiday.

With the fiancee stretching up for some serious shopping, I thought I would try and hunt down some Malaysian ODM.

I was hoping if anyone could give advice regarding on where to look or if I should be weary of any laws regarding trying to bring a medal home.

I am really hoping to try and get my hands on a Order of the Crown of Jahore. Will I have any chance?

Any help on locations and maybe even some ball park prices would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[Hugh]

Hi guys.

I'm off to KL in Malaysia this year for a little holiday.

With the fiancee stretching up for some serious shopping, I thought I would try and hunt down some Malaysian ODM.

I was hoping if anyone could give advice regarding on where to look or if I should be weary of any laws regarding trying to bring a medal home.

I am really hoping to try and get my hands on a Order of the Crown of Jahore. Will I have any chance?

Any help on locations and maybe even some ball park prices would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I suggest looking in the yellow pages of the phone book (under army, military, insignia, etc.). It's worked for me in many locations. I've bought most of my Malaysian medals in Singapore from the manufacturer. Can't remember the name, but it was something like Regal. Back in the '80's, there was an outfit called Malaya Trading Company (basically a military tailor) in KL. He may be in the book if he's still around.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Hugh

Edited January 5, 2011 by Hugh

[khorgor]

Thanks hugh.

I'll see how I go. Might give megan a yell as well as she was the one who provided the pretty pictures over at OMSA of the medals

[James Hoard]

Hi guys.

I'm off to KL in Malaysia this year for a little holiday.

With the fiancee stretching up for some serious shopping, I thought I would try and hunt down some Malaysian ODM.

I was hoping if anyone could give advice regarding on where to look or if I should be weary of any laws regarding trying to bring a medal home.

I am really hoping to try and get my hands on a Order of the Crown of Jahore. Will I have any chance?

Any help on locations and maybe even some ball park prices would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Johore orders will be pretty hard to come by as they have always been awarded rather sparingly, unlike the other Malaysian states. Sometimes a year can go by without a single award appearing in the honours list. The medals will be easier to get. Either way, Singapore is probably going to be a more likely source than KL. Singapore is closer to JB and the Royal Family, court and officials tend to own property and frequent the place more than KL.

There used to be the Royal Medal Manufacturing Co (Singapore) somewhere near the golf course, but I looked them up on the net recently and they now seem to be into furniture! So it may be best to visit a few coin dealers in Singapore and ask around when there.

Cheers

James Hoard

[khorgor]

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately I won't be visiting singapore.

My trip is limited ot KL and Mauritius.

Thanks anyways and appreciate the additional info on the order of jahore

[jules118]

Hi guys,

Resurrecting this topic as I am heading to KL for a few days next month as a stop over enroute to Danang. Whilst there I'll be visiting the Police, Army and Air Force museums and of course searching for medals, badges and insignia so any tips on where to go is greatly appreciated. Cheers

jules

http://www.juleswings.wordpress.com

A site for collectors of militaria and travelers interested in military history.

[drclaw]

Jules, I think you might struggle to find much in KL if Singapore is anything to go by.

I've scoured Singapore (stamp shops, coin shops, flea markets, antique stores) in my last couple of trips and there's little if any interest in medals. The one coin store I found with any medals had some common Soviet orders at very high prices. On the other hand, you could pick up jade carvings by the thousands ...

Gavin

[922F]

Never had luck finding order insignia except obsolete Sarawak items sometimes available on eBay in KL [visits ranging from 1986-2008]. Malaya Trading remained active two years ago but only a few mini medals & some 'national' medal ribbons on offer. You may find some battered pieces like very common British WW II medals in the Chinese part of town.

Best hint for KL is to get a first class hotel [Regency, Park Royal, Istana, Shangri La....] concierge to advize you & arrange a guide/transport -- even if you're not staying there. A substantial tip helps even if you do stay in one of these places.

You'll have better luck finding Johore Order insignia in European auctions!

Never found anything award-related in Mauritius, including information. People supposedly do not even know what post-nominal letters on national heros' statues mean!! Many beautiful beaches and comfortable hotels plus friendly people though.

[Irish]

Thank you Jules for the post of your trip to KL

[Leibermuster]

Hello all,

The trade in Malaysian medals here normally takes place between individuals, as the sale of medals and other awards to the public is prohibited by law. There are many reasons behind this, including the fact that certain awards, such as the Panglima Mangku Negara and Panglima Jasa Negara, carry with them titles (Tan Sri and Datuk respectively) and certain benefits.

However, Malaysian medals and awards do make it into the market, usually when the person who earned them passes away (or goes broke and needs money). I've seen an entire bar of British medals awarded to a Malayan soldier in the 50s sold to a collector by the grandson, but usually its individual pieces that hit the market.

Best place to look for these would be sunday markets (the most well-known is Amcorp Mall in Petlaing Jaya; markets are open saturday and sunday). There's individuals, traders and shops selling medals from Malaya, Malaysia and other countries in that place. I've seen colonial era medals (British, state), Malayan era (Federal, state, British awarded to Malayans), and Malaysian era on sale. Just the other weekend a lovely Sarawak set was sold (PNBS, which bears title 'Datuk Sri'), complete in presentation case. Another fellow turned up with a PMN (very high ranking Federal award which bears the title 'Tan Sri'), complete in case, which is something I'd not seen available before.

However, Malaysian medals are not cheap. My fellow countrymen are rather mercenary and know that these items are scarce. For example, the prices for the two awards mentioned above were MYR1,800 and MYR2,500 respectively (about USD600 and USD850).

My first post in GMIC btw!