Today, the Perak (state in Malaysia) government, introduced Gold dinars and silver dirhams. Menteri Besar of Perak, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir launch the world's first financial instrument ever made of gold and silver with a purity of 99.9 per cent or 24 karats at the Perak state secretary building in Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab, Ipoh. For a start, 1,000 pieces of gold dinars and silver dirhams had been manufactured and would be marketed through Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam (Yapeim) and Nusantara Bullion Exchange (Nubex Sdn Bhd).
Photo by Ikhwan Munir NST: Perak Silver Dirham & Gold Dinar.
Datuk Seri Dr Zambry said Perak Dinar also had higher level of quality as compared to the dinars and dirhams first produced by Islamic scholar Khalifa Abdul Malik ibn Marwan about 1,357 years ago.
"Gold dinars and silver dirhams produced then contained 97 per cent of gold and silver purity, but what we launched today are of higher quality because they are equivalent to 24 karats.
"Nevertheless, they are not made in the form of currency, but more of a new financial instrument for saving and investment," he told reporters after the launch of the gold dinars and silver dirhams here today.
He said the discussion on the production of the new financial instrument began in 2005 and it had been decided that they would be produced by Goldnet International Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture company with the Perak State Development Corporation.
The new financial instrument comes in four denominations, namely half a gold dinar weighing 2.125gm and priced at RM345, one gold dinar weighing 4.25gm and priced at RM690, two gold dinars weighing 8.5gm and priced at RM1,380 and a set of silver dirhams priced at RM260. The face of the instrument is printed with the Perak state emblem while the back is with a similar instrument produced during the era of Khalifa Abdul Malik ibn Marwan.
Source: Bernama
