By Aishah Nadirah
One Thursday morning, more than 20 MV’s gathered at the lobby of the Bank Negara Museum (BNM). I’ve often heard many good things about the museum and was incredibly grateful to be able to join this tour. Visitors were greeted by the grand spiral staircase in the middle of the museum’s hallway and by 10a.m., it was packed with tourists and buses of school children.
The tour was divided into 3 galleries: the Economics Gallery, the BNM Numismatic Gallery, and the latest gallery Masih Ada Waktu.
It kicked off with the first gallery led by En Nazran; the gallery’s definitely a boon for any economics’ enthusiast or those curious about Malaysia’s trading history. Immediately it became clear why there were so many school children in the museum. The interactive exhibits were an essential part of the museum, bringing life to the serious numbers and statistics all over the wall. En Nazran noted that the interactivity is key in the museum, which allows communicating with visitors more efficiently so they won’t have to rely wholly on a museum guide.
The history of Malaysia’s economic growth started with Malaysia’s natural resources, a history of which parallels that in Gallery C of Muzium Negara. It then transitions to Malaysia’s modern-day economics, displaying a switch from a resource-mixed economy to a financial information sector.
Another standout display was the history of trading currency used in the Malay archipelago following the arrival of international traders from Spain, Holland, Portugal and Great Britain to the East Indies in the 16th century. Here, Encik Nazran shared the etymology of the word ‘ringgit’, which came from the jagged edge of a coin or in Bahasa Malaysia, ‘beringgit’.
The last 3 exhibits focused mainly on the nation’s modern economy, from Malaysia’s financial sectors’ development e.g. the prestigious institutions of Maybank, RHB, to the Asian financial crisis and a quick skim of the past governors at the helm during the crisis. The penultimate display was a history of all recorded world economic crises up to the last 2020 Covid crisis. Encik Nazran pointed out the arguably most interesting one: the tulip and bulb craze in the 1630s, where people would go so far as to sell 12 acres of their land for just one bulb of tulip. This led to a tulip and bulb bubble, which wasn’t sustainable and short-lived.
Next came the highlight gallery of the museum: the BNM Numismatic Gallery. Located on the second floor, this tour was guided by Puan Ilyana. It opened with the golden era of the Malay archipelago as the strategic centre of trade, a piece of history familiar to the MVs. There was a wall decorated with a reimagination illustration of Melaka as a trading centre and beside it, an exciting simulation game teaching on the barter trade system.
The next exhibit featured currencies found during the old Malay kingdoms. Displayed in a glass case, as well as its information projected on to the screen above it, many coins were on display in the dark room, giving it an important atmosphere. This flow, Puan Ilyana informed us, was inspired by the Malaccan river, where some of those very coins were discovered. This part of the gallery was a little narrow for the 20 or so of us museum volunteers but the screen was a welcome visual aid for those who weren’t able to catch a peek of the coins. The main attraction in the numismatic exhibit was the Kelantanese coin from the 17th-18th century used during the reign of legend Che Siti Wan Kembang. It was of a kijang emas (deer) which is now emblazoned as Bank Negara Malaysia’s corporate logo –– the first gold coin from Kelantan. Given its gold content, the coin is also valued at current gold prices.
Pn Ilyana took the time to answer each and every question from us. One interesting fact shared by her was that animal tokens, as seen in Gallery C of Muzium Negara of Muzium Negara, were not for transactional use. Instead, it was used as symbolic tokens for belief. For example, a trader would carry around the tortoise token with the belief for longevity.
The walls in the numatic gallery were lined with even more interactive games, bringing the history of coins to life. A personal favourite was one interactive wall featuring historic currencies used in the Malay archipelago, where we match the comically large token to its facts. Not only do we learn these interesting facts, we also get to admire the different currency designs from the different states. One that came to mind is the Johor currency during Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah’s reign – it had a doughnut hole in the middle reminiscent of modern Danish currency 1 krone.
Another exhibit that stuck out was the wall of commemorative currency displaying the huge RM600 bill created in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Federation of Malaya Independence Agreement. According to the Guiness World Records, this was the world’s largest legal banknote in production.
The creation process of the ringgit also was featured, where it involved blending a special mix including polymer and cotton. Pn Ilyana pointed out that’s why the ringgit doesn’t get destroyed in the wash! Interestingly, the raw material blend were available as souvenir pens in their BNM Giftshop at the ground floor.
The numismatic gallery ended with a feature of international currency notes, arranged in alphabetical order. Here, Pn Ilyana shared how any Malaysian ringgit with a scratch on the Agong’s face is considered damaged and holds zero value.
The final exhibit was BNM’s temporary exhibit, Masih Ada Waktu: Sediakan Payung Sebelum Hujan (‘There’s Still Time’), an exhibit aimed to encourage young ones to save. This tour was led by one of the exhibit’s curators, Ms Gabrielle. Walking in was a huge contrast to the previous gallery: unlike the numismatic gallery’s dark and serious atmosphere, this one was brightly coloured and felt incredibly welcoming to children. Ms Gabrielle explained that due to the heavy nature of the content, the exhibit was divided into 4 sections: history of saving boxes, Malaysia’s history of saving, the kids corner featuring tips and tricks for daily savings, and lastly the technical details of saving.
In the first part of the exhibit, we learnt about the piggy bank –– specifically, the ‘celengan’ or the Javanese piggy bank. Most of these piggy banks were originally found in the capital of Majapahit and in the shape of a pig, a symbol of strength and prosperity.
The most interesting thing in the Masih Ada Waktu exhibit, personally, was Malaysia’s history of saving, showing the government’s efforts in encouraging saving nationwide, especially in rural areas. Saving stamps were used at post offices to make saving more convenient for folks staying in the outskirts as banks were located too far away in the city. Interestingly, banking books all over the peninsular differed in design by states. Majority of MVs were also excited at the mention of kootu funds, especially when Ms Gabrielle pointed out that it was illegal when more than 10 contribute or the ibu kutu (leader of the kootu funds) charges interest. It then trails to other collaborations with individuals such as Malaysia’s beloved illustrator Dato’ Lat in the saving campaign, as well as smaller artists selling money banks up to RM2,000.
Finally, the campaign ends with a poppy coloured lifesized snakes-and-ladders game for children to learn as they play about saving habits and even debt. Overall it’s an exhibit that should not be missed, especially for parents, teachers and guardians of young ones. Ms Gabrielle, who also is part of the BNM Marketing team, proudly notes that other central banks visit BNM for guidance on how to make their museums more engaging such as those from Czech Republic and Pakistan. BNM has also several international museum awards under their belt, as well as Accessibility Sejagat award by DBKL. The tour was a highly recommended experience and would definitely be paying another visit to the BNM museum very soon.
Museum Volunteers, JMM 