1 sen matters!
Today is the day where the rounding mechanism of sens starts in Malaysia. This means that any value of sen shall be rounded of to the nearest 5 sen. For example, an item worth RM6.44 shall be counted as RM6.45. So, it's either a 0 or a 5 sen at the end of the calculated sum.
Unfortunately, many Malaysians do not read newspaper. This holds true especially those who are working as cashiers in supermarkets, marts and fast food retailers. They had the lowest reading capability and yet they are the one holding the power to collect the money. I was at the Burger King outlet in outside IKEA where the cashier refuses to receive 1 sen coins. Mind you, I'm just giving out because I had around 15 of them in my wallet, so sharing a few with them does not hurt. But then again who am I to argue with that young Indian cashier who looks more like a dropout student to me, who perhaps had been busier doing HINDRAF rally than reading newspaper. Mind me, it's not the race, it's just me. I also curse Cinapeks and Mat Rempits. Or maybe he's just an SPM 10A's genius who's ignorant of the world.
For those who felt offended, stop reading now. I do not find straight A's in SPM or STPM as a sign of wisdom. It's just a sign of a person able to mug the book well enough. I went through that rat race before, and I'm not proud of it. Those who dwell in the pride of academics shall remain in the past though, or perhaps remain as lecturers in the varsities. That, shall be another topic of another post, maybe in the future.
So, my point is, 1 sen is still LEGAL in Malaysia. 1 sen is definitely VALID to be used. It's just that the rounding mechanism is being implemented, reducing the strain on the usage of 1 sen coins. Transaction using 1 sen coins is legal and Bank Negara would still be producing 1 sen coins according to demands of the market. Of course, the 1 sen coins' demand will decrease over time. But that will be another issue, where Bank Negara would feel appropriate to abolish the use of 1 sen when the demands become negligible.
So for now, the rounding mechanism would create an impact which could be unpredictable. Here's how it works:
This could lead to inflation as speculated as the rounding up to the nearest 5 sen could hike the price increase to the nearest 5 sen. And it could also lead to more awareness of the sen as to benefit the public. Whichever it is, it will depend on the education and development of the mindsets of Malaysian. The Singaporeans have implemented this system at least a few years back, so emulating their feat would not be something unfeasible.Below is the proof that it is still a LEGAL TENDER:
