Memecah Kesunyian Dunia Dinar Kelantan

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A new chapter of financial history is being written in Malaysia. By Abu Bakr Rieger

A Country and its Measures

(gm) It reminds me of the old Asterix books… Gaul has been completely occupied, but a small village is providing some resistance. Or that's how it feels at the moment for the small Malaysian state of Kelantan. Here the presumed triumph of capitalism in Asia could actually be slightly unsettled. The decision to introduce the Dinar and Dirham as a new barter currency in the country has already caused an international uproar. Whilst Europe is still somewhat paralysed as it looks for a way out of the irrational financial dilemma, but in fact is only constantly printing more money, the audacious state is actually dealing with it.

The sensation has quickly spread: In the middle of the historical financial crisis and the largest flood of paper money in the history of mankind, tiny Kelantan with its population of around two million, has remembered the old, anti-inflationary tradition. The government has minted differing weights of gold and silver coins. It simply says "State of the Dinar and Dirham” on large billboards greeting guests at the airport. The minting has its basis in Islam and might have more than a symbolic effect and incidentally cause an earthquake in Asian financial policy.

The leaders not only see the Dinar as a link back to the fundamentally Islamic tradition of the economy, but rather as a useful means for shaping the country’s economic future. The plan is a popular one and has the obvious aim of better protecting its people in times of financial crisis. The facts speak for themselves, everyone has a Dinar, and its success can be seen in its steady positive performance in recent years. It is particularly the devaluation of paper currencies, which is urging leaders to act now.

Heaven knows the financial strategy is not only backwardly romantic, or even a hackneyed escape from modernity. The strategy is in fact based on the timeless effectiveness of the original Islamic financial model: free markets and free money. The implementation is as revolutionary, as it is simple. Public servants can, if they so wish, receive a quarter of their wages in gold and silver, as in the Dinar and Dirham, and they can also pay their monthly water and electricity bills with it.

But also the obligatory Zakat - as you may not know, Zakat cannot be paid in paper currency, which offers enormous potential for the revived DD-economy. The first businessman used it to pay his Zakat at the official launch of the "Kelantan-Dinar". In this regard, we only have to carry out a rough estimate in order to realise what it would mean if millions of Muslims in Asia once again paid their Zakat in gold and silver.

According to financial adviser to the government, Umar Vadillo, the most important arena for the Dinar is simply the city’s market-square. From now on, the conversion rates will be publicly displayed on digital screens. The enthusiasm in the capital is enormous - almost 1,000 shops have already announced the adoption of the Dinar. What is occurring in Kelantan is not the hoarding of gold, but rather the active circulation of it. Today's Dinar economy functions using technological means such as debit cards and SMS or e-Payment systems. Far from being backwards, it is absolutely technologically advanced.

In Malaysia, another exciting chapter in the "currency debate" has begun. Since the country's former Premier, Dr, Mahathir began promoting the "Gold Dinar" after the aggressive currency speculation of the 90's, the theme of "Gold" has been an integral part of domestic political debates in Kuala Lumpur. Mahathir's plan was firstly to introduce the Dinar into the country's foreign commerce. The planned intervention policy alarmed Malaysia's National Bank. What commenced was a lengthy power struggle over the implementation. The National Bank feared even then that the "theoretical" introduction of the Dinar could, in the long run, supplant the national currency.

Policy, banks and political parties may each have their own intentions, but in the end it will probably be up to the consumers themselves to decide the dispute. Many Malays see the freedom to choose their own money as a crucial aspect of freedom, tantamount to, for example, the freedom of expression. On many internet forums and in newspapers it has sparked lively discussion and the varying beliefs on the theme of the Dinar have been discussed. The tenor of the pro-Dinar faction, in allusion to increasing inflation is as democratically based, as it is disarmingly simple: "you keep your paper money, we'll keep our gold!" The referendum on the Gold-Dinar project will actually take place in the country's marketplaces.

Officially, the Kelantan debate centres on whether or not the state - as the National Bank is arguing - has exceeded its legal powers. The debate is very legally demanding. Kelantan has never claimed that the Dinar is legal tender i.e. an official currency of Malaysia, unlike the South African Kruger Rand. Which is why you have to pay VAT on the Kelantan Dinar in many parts of the world. But it is probably only a matter of time before a Muslim country finally accepts the Dinar as legal tender.

The "Dinar", which is mentioned in the Qur’an, is, because of its history dating back to the beginning of Islam, not simply an "alternative currency" or even a currency at all, in the modern sense. The Dinar falls outside of the usual terminology. In Islam, money is not something which is worshipped, nor is it something which is it inflated and is therefore a rational, as well as sober matter. The coins are of a single, official weight in accordance with Islamic law and are comparable to other goods, such as rice. In contrast to modern currencies, which have a monopoly, in Islam has never been the compulsion to "only" use the Dinar.

In Kelantan, it appears that people are further unimpressed by the criticism. Datuk Husam Musa, Chairman of the Planning Committee for Finance and Economy remains emphatic in the face of the tumescent debate: "Various reports claiming that the Dinar is set to become the Kelantan’s second currency are inaccurate and have caused confusion. I cannot see why this question was inflated after Kelantan implemented the use of the Dinar. "The Dinar has been an aspect of Islam since its beginnings," he told media representatives "why", asked Husam Musa smiling "should it only be now that it is no long possible in a Muslim country?"