August 16, 2024, 11:47 AM
Malaysian social media is once again warning of counterfeit RM50 notes; pointing out a curious oddity the notes apparently share.
The usually stern visage of Malaysia's first Agong, Tuanku Abdul Rahman, has been replaced with a relatively jovial grin.
Real skills to spot fake bills
The portrait of Malaysia's first Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Rahman, has graced its notes since the bills were introduced in the 1960s.
Tuanku Abdul Rahman should not be confused with the first Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who coincidentally appears on the other side of the RM50 note.
The current series has maintained this tradition, with nearly identical images of Malaysia's first king on the note's obverse side.
According to Malaysian outlet Weird Kaya, social media posts on Facebook are once again warning of counterfeit ringgit notes, which are identifiable by the Agong smiling jovially, instead of looking stoically ahead.
One poster, identified as Annz Qsta Yong by Malaysian newspaper The Sun, posted a picture of a real note and the allegedly counterfeit note, which showed the distinctly different portraits.
Yong said in their Facebook post that cash transactions "should be approached with caution", especially when involving 50 and 100 RM notes.
The Sun and Weird Kaya report some commenters finding the counterfeit portrait amusing.
Other users speculated that the notes were too obviously flawed to be effective as fake bills and suggested that the notes were misprints.
Come again?
This isn't the first time such a warning has been issued to the public.
It appears Yong was referencing a previous occasion where the "smiling Agong" was spotted.
A World of Buzz article published in January 2023 used an identical picture of the 50 ringgit note with the "smiling Agong", crediting the picture to Facebook user "Zeroxbani Putra".
Even now, Yong's original post has been removed; but other similar posts with identical pictures and warnings are present on social media, having been posted recently.
Screenshots via Michelle 小叮叮/Facebook ,全马环保科技灭白蚁 Bio Termites Control/Facebook, & Siewjing/Facebook
The World of Buzz article also featured an additional Facebook post about a more subtle counterfeiting attempt involving the RM20 note.
In this case, the colour of the RM20 digits and the hibiscus on the note were a different colour from the original note, with the fake bearing red digits, instead of orange ones.
Top image via Michelle 小叮叮/Facebook & 莉虹/Facebook
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