Stamps not for postage

I read with great dismay the edict by Maltapost that all stamps, including definitives, issued before 1998 can no longer be used for postage. When I phoned to confirm this new ruling I was given to understand that this is being done in order to stimulate the collectors' market. I am sorry to say that I was not convinced.

Does Maltapost realise that there are many individuals who are not collectors but buy, for many reasons, stamps in quantity to find them available over a long period according to their diverse requirements or simply to avoid the inconvenience and time wastage of going to a post office?

To offer to exchange these accumulations for more recent issues is no consolation to these many individuals and may mean that they will be left with stamps which in the end they can only throw away.

I always understood that postage stamps are one of those commodities which, for the consumer, do not have a timeframe except in exceptional cases (such as when the currency is changed). I feel that this new edict by Maltapost is not in the interest of the consumer.