Why the change in currency notes again?

The government recently announced the release of new currency notes which will be used pretty soon. In fact, it sparked off a lot of interest from Malaysians all over the country where some had even rushed to buy the first series of the notes. Commemorative notes were released to commemorate a new era of commerce with the new series and this would surely be a great addition to currency collectors.

Somehow or rather, the release of new bank notes might create a lot of inconvenience for people every time it happens. The problem really is not about using the new notes but this keeps changing. It seems that each time a new leader takes over, something about the currency will be changed. New bank notes would usually be used to mark a new era and period of a country but to do that every few years is somewhat ridiculous.

There used to the be the RM1 gold coins which was supposed to replace the RM1 notes. Not long after that, the RM1 notes were re-introduced and then the gold coins eventually were phased out. Many were collecting these gold coins and then there would be a rush to convert them with the banks.

And then there were the RM2 notes. This is still very much in used today but it was to be phased out soon. Among that which is new in this series is the RM20 note which, if one can recall was also used before, until it was phased out. At the moment, the new series are not used yet so for the ‘lucky’ few who could get the new notes, they have to pay a bit more like RM30 for the RM20 note and RM15 for the RM1 and RM5 set. The new notes will start circulation in the second half of next year.

While it is refreshing and nice to have new notes, as mentioned, it creates a lot of inconvenience now that trading would need to change again. Now, Malaysians will have to get used to the RM20 notes again and it will not be long before the current notes will be phased out one at a time.