Malaysian Ringgits

The territory that is now Malaysia fell under the control of the British Empire in the 18th century. This continued until the Japanese occupation during World War Two. The subsequent allied re-occupation led to the unification of the country in its current form, together with widespread demands for independence. This was finally achieved in 1957, when the peninsular portion of the new country was finally recognised as an independent country. The northern Borneo section joined the new federation in 1963. The formation of this new state caused tensions with its larger neighbour Indonesia and considerable internal strife. Conflict between the resident Malayans and the numerous naturalised Chinese settlers resulted in considerable racial tension in the early years of the fledgling state. The status of Singapore also remained a contentious issue. The city state initially joined the new Federation, but was expelled in 1965 and, despite its tiny size, has remained independent to this day. Its government is a constitutional monarchy, very much modelled on the British system, a legacy of its former colonial history.

The current currency is relatively modern, dating from 1993. The name “ringgit” is an obsolete word which originally meant “jagged” in Malay. This referred to the serrated edge of the Spanish silver dollars, which were in common circulation in early colonial times. Spanish and Portuguese traders were first to reach the region in the 16th and 17th Centuries, before the British later superseded them. As a result of independence, the old colonial Malaya and British Borneo dollar was initially replaced by the Malaysian dollar in 1967. The name “ringgit” was introduced in 1993, but the actual currency remained much the same. The ringgit has floated freely on international monetary exchanges since that time, apart from a short period around the turn of the century, when its value was pegged to that of the US dollar. The ringgit has not been generally tradeable outside Malaysia since it was originally linked in value to the US dollar in 1998. At the time of writing, the value of the Malaysian ringgit is approximately 5 RM to the British pound, and around 4 RM to the US dollar.

Given its lack of international tradability, it is unlikely that there are too many ringgits in circulation in UK registered online bingo sites’ bank accounts. There seems little doubt however, that the good old British game of bingo has left its mark on the country, the online version of which lives on long after the colonials left, shortly after the advent of independence.