BANK NOTE
Malaysia : RM600 to Commemorate 60th Anniversary of the Signing of the Federation of Malaya Independence Agreement (2018)
shahirasul
1,252
08-February-2018 02:55:46 PM
04-April-2018 09:13:02 AM
GENERAL INFORMATION
Country
Malaysia
Denomination
600 Malaysian Ringgit
Issued Date/Year
2018 CE - Common Era
Note Type
Polymer - Commemorative
Monarch
Sultan Muhammad V
Governor
Muhammad bin Ibrahim
Dimension
370 × 220 mm
Quantity Printed
6,000
IN COLLECTION CONDITION
Preliminary
Normal
Condition
In Folder
Malaysia : RM600 to Commemorate 60th Anniversary of the Signing of the Federation of Malaya Independence Agreement (2018)
Commemorative Banknotes in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary of the Signing of the Federation of Malaya Independence Agreement

Two commemorative legal tender notes were released on the 25 January 2018. The two notes are RM60 and RM600. These commemorative banknotes were launched by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong XV Sultan Muhammad V at the Museum and Art Gallery, Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

These notes are celebrating the 60th year of the signing of the Federation of Malaya Independence Agreement in 1957. The keyword is Malaya and therefore it has nothing to do with the two other states: Sabah and Sarawak which only joined and formed Malaysia in 1963. Modern Malaysia had its origins in 1957, when the more-populous western part of it became independent from the United Kingdom as the Federation of Malaya. The eastern portion joined in 1963, and the name Malaysia was adopted.

The commemorative banknotes honour the Council (later called Conference) of Rulers' contribution towards the realisation of the Nation's independence on 31 August 1957. The Agreement dated 5 August 1957 proclaiming the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Supreme Head of the Federation was signed by the Malay Council of Rulers from Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu with Sir Donald MacGillivray, the High Commissioner of the Federation of Malaya who represented Queen Elizabeth II. The Agreement became a historical constitutional evidence for the independence of the Federation of Malaya.

LARGE DENOMINATION OF RM600

Malaysia demonetised the two highest denominations of 500 and 1000 Ringgit on 1 July 1999 following the Asian Financial crises (AFC). AFC was started in July 1997, first in Thailand and later spread to other countries like Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and even as far north as South Korea. The AFC weakened the value of the currencies of all these nations affected and in order to control the outflow of capital that may further impacted the Ringgit value, the government demonetised the two highest notes and at the same time making the Ringgit currency not negotiable outside its border. As this 600 Ringgit is a legal tender banknote, this is the first time since 1999 that a banknote issued with the face value higher that 100 Ringgit as legal tender

SPECIFICATIONS

The two notes are printed on Durasafe Hybrid materials, a composite of paper and polymer substrate, speculated to have been printed by Giesecke Devrient. Both notes are sold with a premium and were made available to the public in 3 varieties, with order arrangement which was opened only through website between 29 December 2017 until 19 January 2018. A small quantity of these notes with special or popular serial numbers was reserved for public auctioning on 10 March 2018.
 
Description BNM's Price (RM) Dimension (mm) Printed Quantity Public Purchase Limit Remarks
RM60 (Single) 120.00 162 × 84 60,000 5  
RM60 (Uncut 3-in-1) 500.00 162 × 252 6,000 1 Only 4,000 was made available for the public.
RM600 1,700.00 370 × 220 6,000 1  

Note: BNM's prices stated are inclusive of GST (2017: 6%).

Based on the above, it would be reasonable to say that a minimum of 78,000 notes of RM60 printed.
 
Description Total Value (RM)
RM60 (Single) 3,600,000.00
RM60 (Uncut 3-in-1) 1,080,000.00
RM600 3,600,000.00
Total Face Value 8,280,000.00

All notes are printed with special letter prefix of MRR followed by 7 digits. It is believed that MRR prefix stands for Majlis Raja-Raja or Council of Rulers.

There was a public purchase limit per person as the BNM claimed that it is meant to provide a fair opportunity for the public to buy these limited edition banknotes.

A set of this issue was presented to the Raja of Perlis by Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim on 22 January 2018.
 
Security Features Description
Lithographic printing Multicoloured background printing.
Intaglio printing Raised printing
Half-window Window appears on one side of the banknote so that the polymer/paper core is revealed.
Watermark Image that is revealed when held against light
Perfect see-through registration feature One part of the image is printed on the obverse and the other on the reverse. The full image is revealed when held against light.
Colour-shifting windowed security thread Thread incorporated during paper-making process which changes colour when tilted.
Optically variable magnetic ink feature Ink feature that changes colour when tilted for visual authentication and has magnetic properties.

DESIGN

Banknote's design is based on the theme of Raja Payung Kedaulatan Negara. These commemorative banknotes are the first commemorative banknotes printed by Bank Negara Malaysia on the composite substrate, a combination of polymer and paper substrate, which offers higher security features and longer life span. These banknotes are printed larger in size, based on its face value.

This is the first time in Malaysia banknotes history since 1967 that the portraits of all Agong (past and present) are printed on a single banknote. Since 1967, all banknotes have been just printed with the portrait of the first Agong, Tuanku Abdul Rahman of Negri Sembilan.

Obverse

Symbolising Malaysia as a constitutional monarchy, placed in the middle is the majestic royal throne encircled by the portraits of 15 Yang di-Pertuan Agong who have reigned, in the past 60 years from 1957 until 2017. The design is inspired by the crescent and a 14-pointed federal star which are featured on the royal headgear.

14-pointed federal star(i) featured on the royal headgear.

The royal throne surrounded by a victory wheat wreath, portraits of 15 Yang di-Pertuan Agong positioned in a horse shoe shape, who have reigned since independence (1957) until present day, starting from top left to right:
  • Abdul Rahman(ii) of Negeri Sembilan (1957-1960)
  • Hisamuddin(ii) of Selangor (1960)
  • Putra of Perlis (1960-1965)
  • Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu (1965-1970) 
  • Abdul Halim(iii) of Kedah (1970-1975)
  • Yahya Petra(ii) of Kelantan (1975-1979)
  • Ahmad Shah of Pahang (1979-1984)
  • Iskandar of Johor (1984-1989)
  • Azlan Shah of Perak (1989-1994)
  • Ja'afar of Negri Sembilan (1994-1999)
  • Salahuddin(ii) of Selangor (1999-2001)
  • Sirajuddin of Perlis (2001-2006)
  • Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu (2006-2011)
  • Abdul Halim(iii) of Kedah (2011-2016)
  • Muhammad V of Kelantan (since 2016)
The term for the rotating Agong is fixed for 5 years. The note is also printed with the year dates of 1957-2017.

(i) 11-pointed federal star between 1957-1984;
(ii) died while in office;
(iii) the one and only Sultan who had served two terms (5th & 14th Agong);

Reverse

The back of the note shows portraits of the all nine Rulers (Sultans/Raja) of the original signatories of the independence agreement. The nine Rulers who signed the agreement were (from left to right and top to bottom):
  • Pahang - Sultan Abu Bakar Ri'ayatuddin Al-Muazzam Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abdullah Al-Mutasim Billah Shah (1932-1974)
  • Negeri Sembilan - Yang Di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad (1933-1960)
  • Selangor - Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah (1938-1942, 1945-1960)
  • Kedah - Sultan Sir Badlishah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah (1943-1958)
  • Kelantan - Paduka Sri Sultan Sir Ibrahim IV Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Muhammad IV (1944-1960)
  • Perlis - Tuanku Syed Harun Putra ibni Almarhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail (1945-2000)
  • Terengganu - Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Zainal Abidin III (1945-1979)
  • Perak - Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Jalil Karamatullah Nasiruddin Mukhataram Shah Radziallah (1948-1963)
  • Johor - Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al Masyhur ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah (1895-1959) represented by his son, Crown Prince Ismail Al Khalidi ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Ibrahim Al-Masyhur (Sultan 1959-1981)
The reverse design features the portraits of the nine rulers signing the Federation of Malaya Independence Agreement on 5 August 1957. These banknotes are decorated with prominent independence and post-independence figures and features.  On the right-hand side of the banknote is the triumphant silhouette of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the architect of Malayan independence and the first Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Imprinted on the background are four significant landmarks: the National Palace, Perdana Putra, the Parliament building (August House) and the Palace of Justice. These reflect the four pillars of the nation: the institution of the Monarchy, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary respectively.

The signing of the agreement was based on seniority of the each Ruler and despite the Sultan of Johor was the most senior Ruler then (62-year as Sultan), his State signed last as he did not attended the signing ceremony and instead represented by his son, the Crown Prince. At the time of the signing, the Sultan of Johor was residing in London, England. Also been the most senior Ruler, it was also reported that he rejected the offer to head the first Agong of the newly independent nation citing old age (84 years old in 1957) and at that time, he was more interested in enjoying retirement in England. He died two years after independence. Many historians would agreed that this was the right choice for him not to accept the first Agong role, as he was very pro-British then and at one time openly expressed his view against seeking full independence from the British rule in Malaya. If he had accepted this position, his portrait would have appeared on all Malaysia banknotes issued since 1967.

The next most senior Ruler was the Sultan of Pahang but he was unsuccessful in securing the minimum votes of 5 to install him as the first Agong of Malaya. It appeared that this Sultan of Pahang was not a popular person among the other Rulers. Beside missing the first opportunity, he was not elected by his peers for the same post when it became vacant in 1960 (twice), 1965 and 1970. He died in 1974. The first Agong position went to the Ruler of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

GOVERNOR

The Governor's signature is of Muhammad bin Ibrahim, who was appointed to the role since 1 May 2016.

AUCTIONING

Banknotes that will be auctioned includes those with solid numbers (e.g. MRR0000888), ladder numbers (e.g. MRR0001234) and other special numbers (e.g. MRR0001957, MRR0002017, MRR0000060, MRR0000600, MRR0006000 and MRR0060000).

43 pcs x RM60
2 pcs x RM60-uncut
31 pcs x RM600
RM600 commemorative banknote (serial number MRR0000088) at RM78,000
single RM60 banknote with the serial number MRR0060000 fetched RM50,000.

MNP Auctioneers (Central) Sdn Bhd.
 7th Auction of Malaysian banknotes on 10th March 2018 (Saturday) in Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia

WORLD'S LARGEST BANKNOTE

Philippines 100,000 Peso with the size of 356 × 216mm was issued by the Central Bank of Manila on 22 May 1998. The banknotes were printed by Giesecke Devrient of Munich, Germany. Only 1,000 pieces were issued to commemorate The Centennial of Philippine Independence in 1998. The banknote was offered to collectors by the Central Bank in 1998, who could purchase one of the limited-edition notes for a premium of 180,000 pesos.

It is a celebrated event and also for being unique banknotes, therefore bragging rights are a given in this situation.


REFERENCES

(2018 Jan, 23) Raja Perlis presented with special RM600 and RM60 notes. The Star. Accessed from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/01/23/raja-perlis-presented-with-special-rm600-and-rm60-notes/
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