Big price to pay for those collecting ‘fantasy banknotes’

PETALING JAYA: It is an offence to collect Malaysian “fantasy banknotes” being sold online – one that can get you fined up to RM20,000, or jailed, or both.

Warisan Numismatic Club of Malaysia adviser Dickson Niew Cheng Kok said the hobby of collecting foreign currency notes for aesthetic value or even as an investment is one thing, but enthusiasts should be careful that they are not being duped into buying something that is illegal.

He said fantasy notes are often printed on genuine currency paper “and are sold online, so anyone can bid on and buy them”.

Niew said the recent controversy over “Sarawak banknotes” that were being sold via the Internet was one example.

These notes are not legal tender, Niew said, adding that the use of the Governor of Sarawak’s likeness and the state’s coat of arms on these “50 dollar” bills was also illegal.

“Many know that we only have a single currency in Malaysia, but the existence of such notes has dangerous connotations,” he said.

A check by The Star on auction site eBay showed that a total of 1,554 “Sarawak banknotes” with varying images – angry tiger, calm tiger, or crocodile – on the back had been sold to winning bidders for between US$7 and US$18 (about RM30 and RM77) each.

It was not immediately known who the buyers were but it is believed that 200 such notes found their way to Sarawak.

It was reported that state Assistant Minister of Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali vowed to investigate the matter as it would tarnish the image of the state’s leader.

She told a local news portal in June that this was the first time she had seen such a note and stressed that it was not legal tender.

Under the law, Niew pointed out, those caught forging or counterfeiting currency notes or banknotes under Section 489A of the Penal Code can be arrested without warrant and the penalty is up to 20 years imprisonment or a fine, or both. Section 489B of the same code, on using forged or counterfeit currency or banknotes as genuine, also brings the same penalties.

Possession of counterfeit notes is also liable for up to 10 years’ jail under Section 489C, while Section 489D – making or possessing instruments and materials for forging currency notes – also bears a maximum 20-year jail term and fine.