Precious Flowers of Malaysia only Fit for a KingBunga Emas dan Perak Certainly the most expensive among the flowers of Malaysia. This "flower" made of quality gold and silver, was a special gift for the once powerful King of Siam. Calculating the Cost The northern Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pattani were involved in making these glittering artificial flowers before Malaysia was born. These states imposed census for the purpose of collecting head taxes to pay for the cost of producing bunga emas dan perak. Each adult in Terengganu paid $1 annually. Kedah had a different system: 56 cent from Malay or Siamese, 62 cent from Chinese employee, $2.25 from Chinese businessman. Therefore, the value of bunga emas dan perak depended on the posperity and population of the state it came from. Bunga emas of Pattani cost $1,000 whereas from Kedah, it cost $5,000. A local skilled goldsmith was assigned to mold gold and silver into a pot of flowering plant in a small mosque under the supervision of the Sultan himself. "Ceh, $5,000 is only the cost of a small ipod!" you might think. Then you have to think again in terms of a time when there was no inflation. 80 years ago, my paternal grandfather earns $90 monthly--enough to feed a wife and four children. Bunga emas' history is more than 600 years, so imagine its price in proportion to the wages of the ordinary people. I would say at least 50 times a man's monthly income. A Diplomatic Tool According to Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa at a time when the King of Siam was the older brother of the King of Kedah, the latter initiated a custom of presenting a pot of bunga emas dan perak each time a child was born to the King of Siam. Oral traditions said that Sultan Muhammad II was the first from Kelantan to send bunga emas to Siam as a "token of appreciation" to the King of Siam for acknowledging his sovereignty as the ruler of Kelantan. The first from Terengganu was Sultan Mansur Syah. Terengganu was an ally of Siam in defeating the Kingdom of Ligor. For this, Siam sent gifts to Terengganu and the Sultan reciprocated with bunga emas. So bunga emas dan perak began as a token of friendship between Siam and the northern Malay states to which the King of Siam reciprocated with expensive gifts. It became a different story when Siam turned into an enemy...
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