The Ringgit – Malaysian Currency and Its History

The currency of Malaysia is the Ringgit otherwise known as the Malaysian Ringgit (RM). The ISO code for this currency is MYR (Malaysian Ringgit).

Ringgit does not have a special symbol used in front of the nominal currency. To write nominal, Ringgit is similar to Rupiah.

You only need to write the letter RM in front of the nominal number to distinguish it from other currency denominations. For example, the price of a black wallet is RM10. This method of writing is the same as Rupiah, for example Rp. 10,000.

The name Ringgit is taken from the jagged side of Spanish silver coins which were commonly used as a means of transactions in the past. The mention of Ringgit was finally officially used in 1993.

History of Malaysian currency

As one of the countries that became a British colony, the policy of using currency as a transaction tool in Malaysia is regulated by the British government, including the regulation of the currencies of the strait countries ( Straits Settlement ), as the countries included in the British colonies: Singapore, Melaka , and Penang.

On June 12, 1967 post-independence, Bank Negara Malaysia issued Malaysian dollars to be used as an official transaction instrument . The Malaysian dollar replaces all previously used currencies.

In 1993, Malaysia introduced its currency symbol RM or Malaysian Ringgit to replace the previously used dollar symbol.

Malaysian currency denomination

The ringgit is not much different from the currencies of other countries. This currency has coins and banknotes with different denominations.

If the paper currency uses the Ringgit fraction, the coin currency uses the cent unit. The value of 1 Ringgit is equivalent to 100 cents

Malaysian paper currency

• RM100
• RM50
• RM20
• RM10
• RM5
• RM2
• RM1

Malaysian coin currency

• 50 sen
• 20 sen
• 10 sen
• 5 sen
• 1 sen.

Malaysian currency rates

Based on the latest data at the time this article was published, the exchange rates or exchange rates are as follows.

• RM1 = Rp3.403,65
• RM1 = US$0,24

Interesting facts about Malaysian currency

There are some interesting facts about the Malaysian Ringgit that are interesting to know. Anything?

1. The ringgit is not derived from Malay

The word Ringgit does not come from the Malay language which is used as the official language of Malaysia. This word comes from Spanish which refers to silver coins which were widely used as a means of transaction at that time.

This Spanish currency was widely used in their colonies during the Portuguese colonial era of the 16th and 17th centuries.

2. Have the same picture

If Indonesian banknotes have a different image in each denomination, this is not the case with Malaysian banknotes.

The Malaysian Ringgit sheet has only one image for each denomination, namely Tuanku Abdul Rahman. He was the first Yang Dipertuan Agung after Malaysia became independent from Britain.

3. Gold Deer Ringgit special coin

In addition to those commonly used as a means of daily transactions, Bank Malaysia issued a limited number of special coins worth RM50, RM100, and RM200.

These coins are made of gold weighing oz, oz and 1 oz respectively, so they are better known as the Golden Kijang Ringgit. The coin, which has been issued since 2001, is used as an investment instrument for its owners.

That was information about the Malaysian Ringgit, its history, and its fractions. For those of you who want to know more about currency or insurance?

Frequently Asked Questions about Malaysian currency