...Malaysia - ND2024 Governor Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abduk Ghaffour (2023-) Polymer And Paper

Malaysia

 

Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia Est.1959)

Currency - Ringgit (MYR)

 

Below is a full set of six notes all bearing the central bank governor's signature, Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour. Rasheed Ghaffour was appointed to the role on 1 July 2023, replacing the previous governor, Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus. Rasheed Ghaffour is the 10th bank governor appointed since 1959. The fixed term for the central bank governor is for 5 years and this can be extended by the elected government of the day.  

The designs of the notes below are the same as those previously issued and circulating banknotes in Malaysia are generally undated. Most serious collectors in Malaysia would collect the three main prefixes such as the First, Last and Replacement. No doubt, collecting prefixes is not just tough but can be also expensive too. It is believed that no replacement notes have been printed or sighted so far.

 

Satu Ringgit / One Ringgit Polymer

 

Front - Portrait of the first Agong (King), Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tunku Muhammad (b.1895-1960). Tuanku Abdul Rahman was the Yang di-Pertuan Besar (He Who Is Made Chief Ruler) in the state of Negeri Sembilan. He was the Ruler of the State from 1933 to until his death in 1960. Tuanku Abdul Rahman was elected as the King of Malaya on 31.08.1957 following Malaya gaining independence from the British. The selection for the position of King of Malaya (now Malaysia) was decided by the Paramount Rulers of independent Malaya which comprises all the nine Sultan/Raja of Malaya. He won the votes by 8 to 1, beating the more senior Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Abu Bakar. He was installed as King of Malaya on 02.09.1957.

Governor - Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abduk Ghaffour

Dimensions - 120mm x 65mm 

Back - Traditional Kelantanese kite flying. The kite in Malay is called Wau Bulan. Family having fun at the beach. The logo of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is based on the design of this kite.

 

Lima Ringgit / Five Ringgit Polymer

Front - The term for Malaysia King is for five years and unfortunately Tuanku Abdul Rahman did not serve his full term and died on 01.04.1960. He was succeeded by Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj (b.1898-1960) from the State of Selangor. Well, he didn't last long either as he too did not manage to serve his full term either and died on 01.09.1960, barely 5 months into the role.

Governor - Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abduk Ghaffour

Dimensions - 135.5mm x 65mm

Back - A pair of Rhinoceros Hornbill. These are native birds of Borneo (Malaysia and Indonesia) as well as Thailand. The Rhinoceros Hornbill is also the state bird of Sarawak. 

Sepuluh Ringgit / Ten Ringgit Paper 

Front - Tuanku Abdul Rahman was the second son of Tuanku Muhammad and Tunku Puan Chik. He had an elder brother, Tunku Abdul Aziz but he died in 1917, and since then he had been groomed as heir to the Negeri Sembilan's throne. 

Governor - Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abduk Ghaffour 

Watermarks - Tuanku Abdul Rahman and electrotype 10

Dimensions - 141mm x 65.5mm  

Back - A giant Rafflesia flower. The Rafflesia can be found growing in the States of Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Terengganu and in Borneo. The Rafflesia is known to be the largest flower and is a native to Southeast Asia's rainforests. The Rafflesia is a popular tourist attraction due to the size of the flower.

 

 

Dua Puluh Ringgit / Twenty Ringgit Paper

Front - In 1925, Tuanku Abdul Rahman went to England to read Laws and three years later he qualified as a barrister from Inner Temple. In late 1928, he returned to Malaya and worked in various departments in the government. He succeeded to the Negeri Sembilan throne following the death of his father in 1933.

Governor - Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abduk Ghaffour 

Watermarks - Tuanku Abdul Rahman and electrotype 20

Dimensions - 147mm x 66mm

First Prefix - DJ

Back - Hawksbill and leatherback turtles swimming in a coral reef. The hawksbill turtles are found mainly resting along the State of Melaka, whilst the leatherback turtles can be found on Turtle Islands in the east coast of Sabah.

Lima Puluh Ringgit / Fifty Ringgit Paper

Front - Tuanku Abdul Rahman died in his sleep in the early morning of 01.04.1960. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Tuanku Munawir (b.1922-1967).

Governor - Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abduk Ghaffour 

Watermarks - Tuanku Abdul Rahman and electrotype 50

Dimensions - 146mm x 69mm

Back - Oil palm trees. Malaysia and Indonesia grow around 85-90% of the world's oil palm trees. To the center right is the image of Tunku Abdul Rahman (b.1903-1990), the first Prime Minister of Malaysia (1957-1990). The image is taken from him proclaiming independence on 31.08.1957. The design for this note was first introduced on 26.12.2007, when a commemorative note was released, celebrating the country's 50th Independence anniversary. The commemorative note was printed with the Independence logo on the back, above the watermark area. The above note was then reprinted for general circulation and was first introduced on 15.07.2009 without the commemorative logo.

First Prefix - TH

Seratus Ringgit / One Hundred Ringgit Paper 

Front - Tuanku Abdul Rahman married four times. The first two marriages ended in divorce and the third and fourth wives were related - cousins. In all he produced three sons and five daughters. Two of his sons succeeded him as the Chief Ruler of Negeri Sembilan.  

Governor - Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abduk Ghaffour 

Watermarks - Tuanku Abdul Rahman and electrotype 100

Dimensions - 150.5mm x 69.5mm 

Back - Image of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, and pinnacles rock formation of Gunung Api valley. Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia, whilst Gunung (mountain) Api is located at the Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak. 

First Prefix - EZ

...Great Britain - 20 Pounds (nd)2025 s. Chief Cashier Ms Victoria Mary Florence Cleland

Great Britain

(United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland)

 

Bank of England (Est. 1694)

Currency - Pound Sterling (GBP)

 

Here, I have the ₤20 polymer note with the portrait of King Charles the Third first issued on 05.06.2024. The note that I have here is the reprint of the nd2024 series, but with the Chief Cashier signature of Victoria Mary Florence Cleland. It is believed that this reprint note was issued in (nd)2025.

It is interesting to know that this is Victoria Cleland second time appointment to the Bank of England as the Chief Cashier role. She replaced Sarah John, who is now the bank's Chief Operating Officer. Victoria Cleland first served as the Chief Cashier from March 2014 to June 2018. During that time, her signature appeared on the ₤10, ₤20 and ₤50 paper banknotes and then the ₤5 and ₤10 polymer notes first series. All these notes carried the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth the Second (b.1926-2022). Now she is back again as the bank's Chief Cashier and she was reappointed in March 2025. There is no fixed term for the Bank of England Chief Cashier position. The Chief Cashier position was first established by the bank in 1694, and since then, I believe that Victoria Cleland is the only person that has been appointed to this role more than once.

This is the only note issued with the signature of Victoria Cleland for this King Charles polymer series, and hopefully more to come when reprints for the other denominations to be issued at a later date, if required.

  

Twenty Pounds

 

Front - Portrait of King Charles III who became the King of the United Kingdom following the death of mother, Queen Elizabeth II on 08.09.2022. Coronation was held on 06.05.2023. The last series of polymer notes bearing the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II were released between 2016 to 2021. There are three transparent windows on the note. The one to the left has the face of King Charles. Next to it is the Margate Lighthouse (Kent) in gold foil alongside the Turner Contemporary gallery. To the far right is a window from the ruins of Tintern Abbey. Printed in the center of the note is the Bank of England headquarters which is located on Threadneedle Street in London. Above this are the four shields representing the United Kingdom (L-R) - England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

Signature - Victoria Mary Florence Cleland (Chief Cashier since March 2025)

Watermark - King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 139.5mm x 73mm

Back - An image of Joseph Mallord William Turner (b.1775-1851) with a backdrop of one of his famous paintings, the Fighting Temeraire. This oil painting was completed in 1838. The portrait William Turner printed on this note came from a self-portrait oil painting completed in around 1799. William Turner was a romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He was born and lived in London all his life.

...Malaysia - (ND)2019 Replacement Notes Signed By Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus Tenure 2018-2023 Polymer And Paper

Malaysia

 

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM - Central Bank of Malaysia Est.1959)

Currency - Ringgit (MYR)

 

Note: Only the one ringgit is printed on polymer substrate. The other two notes (50 and 100 ringgit are printed on paper material)

 

On 13.04.2025 I posted a full set of six notes from 1 to 100 ringgit all bearing the bank's governor's signature of Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus. This series was first introduced on 05.07.2009 with the 50 ringgit. You can click onto the link above to view my original post. 

It has come to my attention that whilst in all previous issues, replacement notes are usually printed for all denominations of banknotes that are issued for general circulation. However, for this series, only the denominations of RM1, RM50 and RM100 were printed with replacement prefixes but not for the RM5, RM10 and RM20. I find this a bit strange as to why some have replacement prefixes and some do not have. Perhaps, they have improved the printing process and instead of printing replacement prefixes, the printer just prints some extras to cover those rejected notes.  

In Malaysia, the tenure for the central bank governor role is fixed for 5 years. Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus was appointed as the bank's governor from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2023. She succeeded the previous bank governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim, who only served for two years from May 2016 to June 2018. He resigned from the post shortly after the previous government lost the general election, which is not unexpected in that part of the world. Prior to her appointment, Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus was the bank's deputy governor from 2010 to 2016. It is not clear as to why her position as bank governor was not renewed when her 5 years term expired in 2023. All I can say is that such an appointment has something to do with who the Federal government of the day when the appointment is made. 

 

Satu Ringgit Polimer / One Ringgit Polymer 

Front - Portrait of the first Agong (King), Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tunku Muhammad (b.1895-1960).

Signature - Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus (tenure 2018-2023)

Dimensions - 120mm x 65mm 

Back - Traditional Kelantanese kite flying. The kite in Malay is called Wau Bulan. Family having fun at the beach. The logo of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is based on the design of this kite. 

Replacement Prefix ZF

  

Fifty Ringgit Paper / Lima Puluh Ringgit

 

Front Portrait of the first Agong (King), Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tunku Muhammad (b.1895-1960).  

Signature - Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus (tenure 2018-2023)

Watermarks - Tuanku Abdul Rahman and electrotype 50

Dimensions - 146mm x 69mm

 

Back - Oil palm trees. Tunku Abdul Rahman (b.1903-1990), the first Prime Minister of Malaysia (1957-1990), proclaiming independence on 31.08.1957. 

 

Replacement Prefix - ZH

Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tunku Muhammad (b.1895-1960)

 

Replacement prefix - ZJ

 

One Hundred Ringgit / Seratus Ringgit

 

Front Portrait of the first Agong (King), Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tunku Muhammad (b.1895-1960). 

Signature - Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus (tenure 2018-2023)

Watermarks - Tuanku Abdul Rahman and electrotype 100

Dimensions - 150.5mm x 69.5mm

Back - Image of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, and pinnacles rock formation of Gunung Api valley.  

Replacement Prefix ZF

...Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - $10 Polymer issue Dated 1st January 2024

 中華人民共和國香港特別行政區

(Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China)

 

香港金融管理局

(Hong Kong Monetary Authority - HKMA)

Currency - Dollar (HKD)

 

This is the latest Hong Kong $10 polymer note issued by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government. This note is dated 1st January 2024 and was only reported among collectors last year. This is still the only banknote issued in Hong Kong that is printed on polymer substrate material.

The last issue for this $10 polymer note was dated 01.07.2018. Neither of the three issuing banknote commercial banks have printed the $10 denomination since 1995. When the Bank of China first issued Hong Kong banknotes in 1994, the lowest denomination was the $20. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) last print for the $10 was dated 01.01.1992, and the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) $10 was dated 01.01.1995. Obviously the government feels that there is still a need for this low denomination value note and the government has been issuing this $10 since 2002. This is also due to public demand as the people of Hong Kong find it impractical to have a $10 coin instead of a banknote, especially during festivity seasons when auspicious red packets are required, like new year and weddings and so on.

The designs for this note have not changed since it was first introduced in 2002 except that the material was changed from paper to polymer substrate material in 2005. Honestly, I have no idea how you can describe the design for this note. It looked like mostly ribbon wiggling on the front and back. On the front, the design on those triangle shapes may appear to be representing water waves. In the top center is a hexagon shaped perfect register with the image of a rearing horse. Next to this is printed with the issuing authority - Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Both Chinese and English text are printed on the front and back of this note. I personally believe that it would be much better if they promote the beauty of Hong Kong with the skyline view of the city, which Hong Kong is famous for, to the outside world.

This is a cheap note and it is fun to collect them. 

 

Ten Dollars 

Dated 1st January 2024

Signatures 

Financial Secretary - Paul Chan Mo-po* 陳茂波 (tenure since 2017)

Monetary Authority (Chief Executive) - Eddie Yue Wai-man* 余偉文 (tenure since 2019)

Sizes - 133mm x 66mm 

Note* - It appears that they both have more than one signature (in Chinese as shown on this banknote, and in English as well).

...Bhutan - 100, 500 and 1000 Ngultrum Polymer Series 2025 Commemorative

འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ

Kingdom of Bhutan

 

Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (Est.1982)

Currency - Ngultrum (BTN)

Here are the three commemorative notes of 100, 500 and 1000 ngultrum all released on 02.01.2026. These three notes are all printed in polymer substrates and were issued to celebrate the 70th birthday of the formal King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who was the King of Bhutan from 1972 to 2006. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck was born on 11th November 1955, and abdicated in 2006 in favour of his son, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

Like many Asian countries, many central banks have issued polymer banknotes due to it's durability and being able to be recycled once they are no longer deemed fit for circulation. However, most of the countries issue polymer notes with either the lower denominations, or those that are the most circulated denominations. In the Bhutan case, the central bank has issued them with the three highest denominations. Bhutan is the 19th nation in the Asian region to issue polymer banknotes.

The design for the notes depict a portrait of a Bhutanese monarch (past or present) and on the back with the image of a Dzong or a fortress monastery that serves as both the religious and administrative center for a district.

These notes are printed by De La Rue on Safeguard polymer materials. 

Circular transparent window with the image of the current monarch, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

I am not sure who the signature belongs to that is printed on these three polymer notes. These three notes were issued in early 2026 and all notes are dated 2025. The previous bank governor was Dasho Penjore and he was replaced by Dasho Yangchen Tshogye (she/her) on 01.12.2025 (appointed on 25.11.2025). I can see the signature on these polymer notes are not the same as those previously signed by Dasho Penjore, however, I cannot be sure these polymer notes signature belong to Dasho Yangchen Tshogye, given the time she was appointed and the release of these notes were just over a month. Most printing of banknotes is well planned in advance. I can see previous notes were signed with western style (English alphabet), whilst these three polymer notes are signed in Bhutanese (I think). The signature on these notes could belong to the previous governor, Dasho Penjore as he may have two signatures. The appointment of the governor is for 5 years. Any future issues should confirm this.

****This is one expensive set to purchase, just because it is printed in polymer substrate material. This is the price to pay if you want to be the first to have them. Such strategy **** 

 

One Hundred Ngultrum

Front - The portrait of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who was born in 1980. He is the eldest son of the former King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. He acceded to the Bhutanese Golden throne following the abdication of his father on 09.12.2006.

Signature - Dasho Penjore (tenure 2015-2025)

Date - 2025

Sizes - 144.5mm x 69mm

Back - An image of the Tashichho Dzong situated at the northern edge of Thimphu. The Tashichho Dzong is a Buddhist monastery and is also traditionally the office of Bhutan's civil government.

 

Five Hundred Ngultrum

Front - The portrait of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck who was born on 11 November 1955. He was the king of Bhutan from 1972 to 2006 when he abdicated in favour of his eldest son from his third wife. He is married with four wives and with 10 children.

Signature - Dasho Penjore (tenure 2015-2025)

Date - 2025

Sizes - 150mm x 71.5mm

Back - The image of Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungthang Dewa Chhenbi Phodrang. In translation, it means 'the palace of great happiness or bliss'. The Punakha Dzong is situated between the two rivers of Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu in the Punakha valley. It is believed that this palace was built around 1638. This is also the palace where the current King and Queen Jetsun Pema held their Royal wedding in 2011.

 

One Thousand Ngultrum 

Front - The portrait of King Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck (b.1862-1926). He was the first king of Bhutan from 1907 to until his death in 1926. King Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck spent his early life uniting various tribes. Following the death of his father Jigme Namgyal in 1881, he took over his father's position and continued working his way to win the hearts and sorts of the people. In 1886 at the young age of 24, he successfully achieved victory against his enemies and became the de facto ruler of Bhutan. He was crowned the King of Bhutan in 1907.

Signature - Dasho Penjore (tenure 2015-2025)

Date - 2025

Sizes - 154.5mm x 75mm

Back - An image of Trongsa Dzong. This is the largest dzong fortress in Bhutan and is located in Trongsa in the center of the country. It is believed that this dzong was built in 1543. Today, this dzong functions as a Bhutanese government administrative office.