Oh, dear! Apparently Bank Negara is issuing limited quantities of new notes for this year 2011 Chinese New Year. Checking on a couple of banks, they informed that they only have RM1 and RM50 notes. What!? You can’t expect us to stack heaps of RM1 note into the Ang Pow Packets! And we are not that rich to put RM50 in Ang Pows to give away. Perhaps Bank Negara think Chinese in Malaysia are rich people. We slog like the rest of the rakyat in Malaysia and pay taxes through our noses! Apparently there was some message circulating in the wild saying that a large proportion of taxes in Malaysia are paid mainly by Chinese!
Well, a large proportion of Chinese in Malaysia do work very hard, and not everyone of the Chinese population does make a comfortable living. Some still scrape through, and many are still struggling to make ends meet. When it comes to Chinese New Year, Chinese try to celebrate and give out a portion of their hard earned money for generosity and goodwill to family and friends. Giving is a blessing! When you give so would you received! There is indeed a strange law of attraction going on here. The more you give, the more you returns. That’s why Christians tithes 10% of their income. That’s why all the rich people do in charity if not in tithes. They even mentioned it in their seminar. That’s biblical principal for you!
So it is nice to give out new notes to usher in the New Year. But looks like the white rabbit just hop into the hole took along with it the new notes. So what I manage to exchange was only RM1 notes and RM50 notes.
Some bank front tellers say Bank Negara may issue new notes next week for the RM5 and RM10 notes but at this moment it is uncertain. If you can’t wait for the new notes, you could still exchange for the old notes I suppose.
Perhaps Bank Negara is having some cash flow issue and decided not to issue new notes. After all, printing new notes and circulating them cost money. It is like using money to create new money in this case it is not about creating as in profiteering but as in public service.
I have a feeling all is not well in the Malaysia government coffers, as recently there were a rash of compound notices issued. From very old traffic offenses, to fines on minor irregularity in businesses submission of tax returns to Internal Revenue Board. Enforcement of traffic offenses are seen to be rising as well too. There was a time, the police were at full force creating road blocks on the expressway catching speeding cars and all and there was no exception even if your speed was slightly above the limit.
Whatever the reason, no new notes, and thus giving out Ang Pows with old notes is not quite the same. Sure money is money, but giving out tattered old notes doesn’t sound like a Chinese New Year. Where is the “new” in the New Year?