RM 1,957 for a ‘Merdeka Pen’
Talking about Merdeka, here’s a touching article I came across today. Of course to most of us, spending almost RM 2,000 for just 1 pen is ridiculous but to me honest with all of you, being the person I am, if I could spare that much money, I truly would buy one of these limited edition pens, 188 pieces in total.
Here is the touching part :
“The pen is not made for profit purposes. It is to represent a family legacy of patriotism to Malaysia and even if we lose out, it’s a small price to pay for so much that we have gained from the country,” Ridzuan said in an interview at the store in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman here yesterday.
Kudos to the ‘Pen Doctor’ !
The Star : Wednesday August 29, 2007
Pen doctor’s dream to do something special for celebration
KUALA LUMPUR: K.S. Gill had always dreamt about doing something special for his late good friend, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in conjunction with the nation’s Merdeka celebration.
It was no wonder that the “pen doctor”, as he is popularly known, came up with the idea of producing “Merdeka pens” to celebrate the nation’s 50th birthday.
Gill, founder of the country’s pioneer pen specialist store, K.S. Gill (KL) Sdn Bhd, which opened in 1941, became friends with Tunku Abdul Rahman as both were then members of the Selangor Club.
Its present managing director M. Ridzuan Gill said his 93-year-old father’s dream was to do something special for the celebration, so he thought about producing handmade American “Statesman” pens with the Jalur Gemilang design on them.
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Collector’s item: Ridzuan showing the limited edition Statesman pens produced for the 50th Merdeka celebration. |
Ridzuan, 49, said the pens, which cost RM1,957 each – to mark the year the nation gained independence – would be presented to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak soon.
There are 188 of these limited edition pens which work both as a fountain and rollerball pen.
“The pen is not made for profit purposes. It is to represent a family legacy of patriotism to Malaysia and even if we lose out, it’s a small price to pay for so much that we have gained from the country,” Ridzuan said in an interview at the store in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman here yesterday.
He said different materials were used to make the pen. The nib is a German two-tone broad Iridium, with rich 22K gold hand-cast engraved insets on the cap, barrel and accent band surrounded by brilliant Rhodium plating to enhance the four different types of wood used in the depiction of the Malaysian flag.
Ridzuan said dyed American maple is used for the red stripes, natural American holly for the white stripes, dyed American curly poplar for the blue canton and natural Brazilian satinwood for the yellow crescent and star.
“It takes four days to make one pen, and this will be the first and last time that we will make such pens,” he said, adding that 47 pieces had already been sold.
He said that since each pen was handmade, no two pens were exactly alike as the subtle differences of wood colour and grain enabled each pen to be unique.
The limited edition comes protected in a specially designed wooden box with a patriotic touch, a convertible rollerball section and refill, a black pen pouch and a bottle of ink.
drNaz & his network of human beings 