by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, June 19, 1993:
What has bank Negara taken such a long time to confirm the existence of fake RM1 coins?
Bank Negara confirmed yesterday two RM1 coins discovered in Kota Kinabalu to be fakes and that the Chemistry Department had reconfirmed the back’s initial profile analysis through tests on their alloy composition.
Why has bank Negara taken such a long time to confirm the existence of fake RM1 coins when public talk of the existence of fake RM1 coins had been in circulation for the last two months?
Is it possible that there are only two fake RM1 coins in circulation in the country – which will make their coinage even more expensive than the genuine coins.
If Bank Negara had taken a more serious attitude to the rumours of fake RM1 coins, it would have confirmed and got to the bottom of the fake coins much earlier.
This must be another lesson for Bank Negara, apart from the RM16 billion foreign exchange losses it suffered last year.
Bank Negara has advised the public not to be alarmed at the confirmation of the two fake RM1 coins as the circulation of counterfeit coins was not widespread. Is Bank Negara going to give a guarantee that it would redeem all RM1 coins – regardless of whether they are genuine or counterfeit from the public, as it will be the poor and low-income groups who will suffer most if there is a serious problem of counterfeit RM1 coins.