When Durians Cost 80 Sen In Malaysia…
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It’s coming to 67 years since the Malay Peninsula gained its independence from British rule. Since then, things have changed. We’ve gone through a lot as a country and sometimes it’s worth taking a step back to see what the journey looked like.
Especially when it comes to our money or rather how much of its value has changed. Sure, inflation is the culprit in causing prices to increase. This means the value of a ringgit over 60 years ago was worth far more than today.
If you have ever come across old advertisements from the mid-20th century, it may come as a shock to you. Durians for 80 sen and men’s formal shoes that cost $7.90? Let us take a journey back in time to look at the prices of some familiar products as we welcome our 67th Merdeka.
Prices in Malaysia in the 1950s and 1960s
Shoes
For example, this advertisement from Swiss shoe brand Bata lists prices in 1936 in the Straits dollar.
This currency that was in use from 1898 to 1939 by the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, Kingdom of Sarawak, Brunei, and British North Borneo. Basically, what is currently Malaysia and its closest neighbours in Southeast Asia. As to how the Straits Dollar converts to the ringgit, we will address this in the second part of this article.
The “Bentok 57” size 7 – 1 cost $2.36 while the formal dress show “Bentok 77 size 9-11” retailed at $7.90.
However, the Straits Dollar is not equal in value to the Ringgit. Adjusting for inflation, those same prices today will be closer to RM27 and RM100 respectively.
Comparatively, Bata retails children’s school shoes from RM30 onwards to over RM80 these days. As for formal men’s shoes, the cost starts around RM120 to over RM400 or more.
Clothes
Another example is this 1967 Hari Raya Aidilfitri promotion from British chain store Clark’s. Note that once upon a time, Clark’s didn’t only sell shoes but also bedsheets and bath towels.
Over 57 years ago, a cotton Ladybird sports shirt would cost $4.90. The same advertisement also shows a men’s Hawaiian pattern shirt was sold at $4.50!
Adjusted for inflation, the prices would be closer to over RM40 to RM45 today. Considering these would be imported clothing, these are fairly reasonable prices by today’s standards.
While Clarks today no longer sells clothing in Malaysia, their shoes are still a popular mainstay in urban Malaysian department stores.
Back in 1967, a pair of Clarks ‘desert boots’ retailed at $29.90. Anyone who has ever tried to buy a pair of Clarks shoes today will know that they start at over RM300 even on discount!
As a flashback, a snapshot of The Malay Mail frontpage in 1957 shows that the paper retailed at 15 cents. That is about RM1.30 in today’s money. In addition, for most of us today, we don’t even buy a printed newspaper!
Durians
One last thing to note is this viral picture below of durians in 1958. The snapshot supposedly showing off how cheap they were back when we first gained independence. In case the image doesn’t appear on your screen, it claims that durians cost 80 sen “stopok”.
Presumably stopok is how setompok was spelled back then, since the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and standardised spelling was only being established in that year.
So how much is this actually worth?
That depends. Considering that this was before the ringgit, we would have to refer to the Malayan and British Borneo dollar for its value. Since that’s where it was pegged at the time, so $0.80 would be roughly RM14 today.
How much is that today? Honestly not a lot. Considering that it’s being sold by the pile. We can’t be sure when that picture was taken, but it certainly would be a very low price for durians no matter what year it was.
These days the fruits are sold at over RM10 for two or three durian kampung; or from RM25 per kilo for the Musang King (it always weighs more than one kilogramme).
How did the Malaysian ringgit come about?
When the country achieved independence in 1957, the ringgit was not the official currency. As shown above, the Straits Dollar was very much in circulation up into the 1960s.
The closest value we could find for the Straits Dollar was in 1903, where it was valued at 28 Pence Sterling (2 shillings 4 pence sterling).
The Straits Dollar was eventually replaced in 1939 with the Malayan Dollar, and then subsequently replaced by the Malaya and British Borneo dollar in 1953. The actual exchange value to the British pound sterling didn’t change; neither did the currency symbol.
Source: BNM
June 1967 saw the introduction of the Malaysian dollar, our first own currency which was valued at $8.51 per one Pound Sterling. When it first appeared, the Malaysian Dollar was referred to as the dollar in English and ringgit (an old word for Spanish coins) in Malay.
The Malaya and British Borneo dollar remained legal tender until 1969.
This notice of school fees from 1979 shows the $ symbol still in use with the ringgit during the first 26 years of its life. It also shows just how much has changed over time; when you should have to buy bottles of ink for children to use during school lessons.
Primary school fees of $12.40 would translate into about RM41 today. Of course, the government abolished school fees back in 2012. On the other hand, there have been complaints about Parent-Teacher Association (PIBG) fees rapidly increasing over recent years.
In 1975, the currency was formally renamed the Malaysian ringgit and with RM replacing the dollar sign in 1993, eventually becoming the currency that we all know and love.
Happy Merdeka!
It’s always important to bear inflation in mind when looking at how much things used to cost. It’s also important to remember that we didn’t always use the ringgit; even if we take it for granted today.
It took decades of nation building before Malaysia as we know it came into being. Change doesn’t happen overnight, and our country had many challenges to overcome before being truly free and peaceful.
So here’s to another 67 years of independence, growth, and prosperity.
