How Much Is It in Malaysian Ringgit?

Would you like to express Malaysian Ringgit in Bahasa Malaysia? It is quite easy and very useful when you go to the coffee shops.

Malaysian Ringgit-banknotes

My favourite piece of money is of course, RM100. Who doesn't like the largest denomination? RM100 is seratus ringgit Malaysia, usually we just say seratus ringgit. The other denominations are:

�RM50- lima puluh ringgit

�RM10 � sepuluh ringgit

�RM5 - lima ringgit

�RM2 � dua ringgit

�RM 1 - satu ringgit

Why is the Malaysian money called ringgit, a word which means jagged? Long ago, Malay-speaking folks referred to Spanish silver money as ringgit to describe its jagged edges. So I guess that's how ringgit got its money connection.

The next step is for you to know some basic numbers:

1 satu 2 dua 3 tiga
4 empat 5 lima 6 enam
7 tujuh 8 lapan 9 sembilan
10 sepuluh 11 sebelas 12 dua belas
13 tiga belas 14 empat belas 15 lima belas
16 enam belas 17 tujuh belas 18 lapan belas
19 sembilan belas 20 dua puluh 21 dua puluh satu

30 tiga puluh 40 empat puluh
50 lima puluh 60 enam puluh
70 tujuh puluh 80 lapan puluh
90 sembilan puluh 100 seratus
1000 seribu 10,000 sepuluh ribu
100,000 seratus ribu 1,000,000 sejuta

Okay, my limit is one milion. Not many of us have the privilege to count sejuta ringgit anyway...Here are only three questions, how do you say this in Bahasa Malaysia?

1.RM25=?

2.RM198=?

3.RM4760=?

*Scroll towards the bottom of this page for the answers, after you have tried the questions with coins as well.

The Story of RM500 and RM1000 Banknotes

There was time when there were bigger denominations than RM100 in the scene of the Malaysian Ringgit. You might remember the orange RM500 note and the blue/green RM1000 notes.

During the Asian monetary crisis 1997, these notes were withdrawn out of circulation when huge amounts of Malaysian Ringgit were taken out of Malaysia to be traded. By 1999, they ceased to be legal tender. I wonder if they will ever make a come back...?

Malaysian Ringgit -Themes of the Banknotes

Bank Negara or the Central Bank of Malaysia issued altogether three series of banknotes. How do you know if the notes inside your wallet are what they call "old money" or "new money"? By looking at the themes at the reverse side.

I wonder if you still see kijang as the only feature on your ringgit these days...? That would be the oldest Malaysian banknotes, belonging to the first series. If you see landmarks in Kuala Lumpur such as the National Monument, Old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station or even Bank Negara Malaysia, then you have the second series.

The current series carry the theme Wawasan or Vision 2020. RM100 depicts the manufacturing sector, represented by a car production line, a proton car engine and a gear wheel. RM50 depicts the mining sector, represented mainly by an oil drilling platform. RM10 depicts modern transportation, represented by Malaysian Airlines' aircraft, Light Rail Transit System's train and Malaysia International Shipping Corporation's container vessel. RM5 depicts the construction sector, represented by the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the Petronas Twin Towers plus a map showing locations of Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.

If you have no patience for details, the presence of the symbol RM, which replaces M$ in 1990's is enough to tell you that it is the latest Malaysian currency.

Beginning of Polymer Notes Era?

Another feature of the current Malaysian Ringgit is the presence of hologram strips ( a 3-dimensional photographic image created by laser beam ) to make it difficult to print false money out of them.

In October 2004, RM5 polymer banknote with a transparent window was released. Polymer is more durable than paper and incorporates many security features not available to paper banknotes. Bank Negara plans to gradually replace all paper notes with polymer notes.

Malaysian Ringgit - Coins

There are altogether two series of coins. I discuss only the current series here. Personally, I like the different aspects of Malaysian culture depicted on the obverse of these coins. On the 1 sen coin you see rebana ubi or giant drum ,5 sen depicts gasing or top, 10 sen depicts congkak or a type of mancala game, 20 sen depicts tepak sirih which is a betel leaf container, 50 sen depicts a wau kite... and I have a friend who loves to collect the RM1 " gold coin", which has ceased to be legal tender.

With the introduction of coins, let me put them together with the ringgit and see if you can figure out how to say these figures in Bahasa Malaysia:

1.RM1.20=?

2.RM55.95=?

3.RM7.50=?

The RM1 Story

First there was the blue RM1 note followed by RM1 cupronickel coin. In 1993 Malaysians began to use RM1 "gold coin"( which is actually copper-zinc-tin )and said goodbye to RM1 note. Then in 2000 RM1 note made a comeback to replace RM2 note ( I can't understand this because RM2 is still sticking around and you are suppose to replace something that is gone ). On 7 December 2005, RM1 coin was demonetised partly due to problems with standardization of the two RM1 coin versions and forgery. I miss the beautiful "gold coin".

Answers

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