Perak to Also Introduce Dinar, Dirham
After Kelantan, Perak will become the second state in the country to introduce the gold dinar and silver dirham currency to give its people more savings options.
Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said discussions on introducing this currency began two years ago and that it would be introduced in stages.
"We are also in the process of minting the gold dinar and silver dirham coins," he told Bernama after the World Usury Conference here Tuesday.
Asked whether the state would be using the Kelantan model for the currency, Zambry said the state would be using a different approach.
"Actually, we were the first to initiate the idea but Kelantan introduced the currency first but it is okay with us because it is a good thing," he said, adding, however, the currency would be subject to Bank Negara requirements. Earlier when disclosing the proposed project to the conference's participants, Zambry said Perak acknowledged that "gold is a good store of value".
He believed that since gold had played the role of money globally for centuries, its value was therefore expected to rise during a crisis.
"By putting some of their savings in gold and silver, the people can protect the value of their savings from depreciating.
"In the current hyper inflationary conditions, this would be truly a positive thing for the people," he said.
