Kelantan launches syariah currency

KOTA BARU: Kelantan has become the first state to introduce the gold dinar and silver dirham as official currency.

Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said the state would strive to expand the use of gold dinar and silver dirham in its transactions, including the payment of civil servants’ remuneration.

“However, there are many technicalities that have to be addressed by the state government,” he said after launching the Islamic currency yesterday.

The gold dinar and silver dirham is managed by Kelantan Gold Trade (KGT), a subsidiary of Kelantan Mentri Besar Incorporated (PMBK). In a symbolic gesture, Nik Abdul Aziz handed over a dinar gold to PMBK chief executive officer Mustapha Salleh as payment of salaries to PMBK employees for the month.

Nik Abdul Aziz said 1,000 traders so far had agreed to use the currency in their transactions besides Tabung Haji and Bank Islam Malaysia.

“Syariah currency was widely used thousands of years before the fall of the Ottoman Empire,” he said. — Bernama