by Xiong Ping, Li Xueqing

    KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The main concept was to convey the message of protecting children's rights in a "simple, straight and positive way," Jann Lim, the art designer of a new set of stamps issued last month in Malaysia, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

    In October, the Malaysian postal service, Pos Malaysia, introduced a new set of stamps, "Caring Society," to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and to honor the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) for its role in protecting children and their rights to survival, development and protection.

    Lim, 30, a native Malaysian, supervised a team of four art designers and a writer, also in their 30s, to design the postage set.

    According to her, the set consisted of four stamps. Each stamp featured a different children's right -- food, education, play and protection. The stamps were issued in four different colors -- orange, green, pink and blue, the colors used by UNICEF.

    For their design, Lim and her colleagues adopted the silhouette pattern. The stamps depicted four children: one child holding a toy windmill in his hands represented the right to play, one holding a cup in his hands represented the right to food, one wearing a school satchel on his shoulders represented the right to education, and one with an umbrella in his hands represented the right to protection, she explained.

    Lim said that although nowadays Malaysian children were leading happy lives and were not burdened by problems experienced by child soldiers in war-worn countries, they still faced some other problems like being abused. Being deprived of the right to food, education, play and protection were their four major problems.

    Lim's collegues, Bernord Chong, Sam Siong Wee and D. Annuar, agreed with their team leader.

    They said it was the first time they had worked on a design for charity. Regarding the project as an honor, they hoped it would inspire people to respect children's rights.

Special report: Global News Day for Children