Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A suggestion for BNM Commemorative coin

These are some of my suggestion to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for commemorative coin that they should minted in the future. Why do I making this suggestion? Mostly because BNM produce low commemorative sets of design every year (only 3 this year, correct me if I am wrong). Some of their design is not even appealing to collectors. For me, some of the anniversary that they commemorate are not worth to collect. 125th Anniversary of Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan Malaysia (JUPEM) for example, its sound nice to educate public about the department contribution to Malaysia. But is it worth to put it on coins?


Here are some of my suggestion for BNM. I welcome everyone to add a suggestion of your own and wish any of the BNM design department people read this and consider them in our future collection:

1. 50th years of Zoo Negara.

Zoo Negara (literally National Zoo in Malay) will be 50 years old on 14 November 2013. It is the oldest zoo in this country and already visited by millions of Malaysian and tourist in this country. The park is managed by a non-governmental organization known as the Malaysian Zoological Society. The zoo located on 110 acres (45 ha) of land in Ulu Klang, near Taman Melawati, in north-east Kuala Lumpur.


2. Sabah Rafflesia flowers.

Do you know that there are 3 types of Rafflesia that can be found in Sabah:
i. Rafflesia keithii Meijer
ii. Rafflesia pricei Meijer
iii. Rafflesia tengku-adlinii Salleh & Latiff

Rafflesia is the official flower for Sabah. You can find and see Rafflesia flower at places such as Poring Hot Springs at the Kinabalu Park and Tambunan Rafflesia Reserve in Sabah.


3. Malaysia Prime Minister series.

Malaysia had gain independence since 31 August 1957. Until now, there are six people who had held the position of Malaysia Prime Minister (Perdana Menteri in Malay). Whenever there is a new appointment of a prime minister, BNM should mint a coin to commemorate that occasion. We don't get a new Prime Minister everyday, right? As what I write before, until know, there is no single coin with Tun Dr. Mahathir face on it.

4. Malaysia famous building.

We have many famous building that should be in BNM designs. Sultan Abdul Samad building for example is already over 116 years old and became the focus during the independence celebrations. It was here, the Union Jack flag was lowered and the Malayan flag hoisted for the first time at midnight on August 31, 1957. The Petronas Twin Towers (also known as the Petronas Towers or KLCC) are skyscrapers and twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 until surpassed by Taipei 101, but remain the tallest twin buildings in the world.

5. Malaysia Warriors- Dato Maharajalela, Mat Kilau, Rentap, Mat Salleh etc.

These countries also have many heroes@warriors who are involved with the independence of Malaysia. These freedom fighters should be put on coins

Dato Maharaja Lela was a Malay nationalist from Perak. Dato Maharaja Lela was a leader who later led the struggle against the British in Perak. He is famous for his planned to assassinate James Wheller Woodfird Birch (JWW Birch), the British Resident of Perak. Birch was killed on 2 November 1875 by Dato Maharaja Lela and his assistant Sepuntum in Pasir Salak.

Rentap or Libau (died 1863) was a famous Iban warrior in Sarawak during the Brooke White Rajah era. Rentap rebellion was due to the James Brooke's action of eliminating the Ibans in Skrang because he thought they were pirates.

Datu Muhammad Salleh or better known as Mat Salleh is famous for a series of major disturbances in North Borneo, now the Malaysian state of Sabah, from 1894 to 1900. The rebellions started when British North Borneo Company imposing a new rules on the Sugud River region; taxes and the requirement for the keris and boat licences.


One of big problem for collector in Malaysia, everytime there is a new commemorative sets come into market, there are not enough gold coins for small buyer like me. Even if BNM minted 500 gold sets for that design, most of the time only few sets can be bought directly from BNM. BNM should make sure an equal right for everyone. Selling them directly to big time buyer directly without regulations is just making the rich became richer. BNM should try minted a color coin with an attractive design in the future. The engraver, designer and mint of the coins should also be included in the Technical Specification of BNM collection. This is just a suggestion and my personal views.

What do you think?

Source: Wikipedia, Bank Negara Malaysia.

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