Kelantan Golden Trade Sdn Bhd, the sole state agency responsible for the sale of gold dinar and silver dirham in Kelantan, on Saturday explained that their coins are not legal tender. Its Chief Executive Officer, Umar Ibrahim Vadillo, in stating this said the use of the Kelantan's dinar and dirham was strictly on a voluntary basis. He said Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan (PMBK), Kelantan Golden Trade and other government agencies have also agreed to allow their employees who want dinar and dirham for part of their salaries to be given these coins but only upon request from the employees and on strict voluntary basis.
Photo by The Star: Dirham and Dinar Kelantan.
"Nobody has been forced to use or buy the coins as some media has suggested. People buy the coins voluntarily and the shops join the network also voluntarily," he said during a media briefing here today on the gold dinar and silver dirham being used in the state.
He said he was also disappointed with some of the media and the way they have reported on the matter.
"The issue of legal tender is clearly nothing to do with us," he said in response to media reports which stated that the state was trying to make use of the coins as legal tender.
Umar said the company fully understood that only Bank Negara Malaysia has the right under the law to issue currency in Malaysia and that the ringgit was the only currency which was the legal tender for payment of goods and services in the country.
Umar explained that the introduction of gold dinar and silver dirham in Kelantan was not a new idea or experiment but it was the first time in history that people were being given a choice to use these coins for the payment of zakat and services.
The Kelantan government introduced RM2.0 million worth of gold dinar and silver dirham for the people of the state in August 12 this year. To date, about RM1.5 million of gold dinars have been sold out. The value for the dinar and dirham are based on the market price. As at Friday, the price for one gold dinar is about RM592 and RM13 for dirham. Umar said that the state government planned to double the operating capital of the company from RM2.0 million to RM4.0 million to allow for the larger production of coins.
Kelantan Golden Trade also planned to add production of the coins in a second minting facility in Penang with Public Gold Sdn Bhd. The first production was made by Emirates Gold in Dubai.
Photo by The Star: Dirham and Dinar Kelantan."Nobody has been forced to use or buy the coins as some media has suggested. People buy the coins voluntarily and the shops join the network also voluntarily," he said during a media briefing here today on the gold dinar and silver dirham being used in the state.
He said he was also disappointed with some of the media and the way they have reported on the matter.
"The issue of legal tender is clearly nothing to do with us," he said in response to media reports which stated that the state was trying to make use of the coins as legal tender.
Umar said the company fully understood that only Bank Negara Malaysia has the right under the law to issue currency in Malaysia and that the ringgit was the only currency which was the legal tender for payment of goods and services in the country.
Umar explained that the introduction of gold dinar and silver dirham in Kelantan was not a new idea or experiment but it was the first time in history that people were being given a choice to use these coins for the payment of zakat and services.
The Kelantan government introduced RM2.0 million worth of gold dinar and silver dirham for the people of the state in August 12 this year. To date, about RM1.5 million of gold dinars have been sold out. The value for the dinar and dirham are based on the market price. As at Friday, the price for one gold dinar is about RM592 and RM13 for dirham. Umar said that the state government planned to double the operating capital of the company from RM2.0 million to RM4.0 million to allow for the larger production of coins.
Kelantan Golden Trade also planned to add production of the coins in a second minting facility in Penang with Public Gold Sdn Bhd. The first production was made by Emirates Gold in Dubai.
Source: Bernama News
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