The 1000 Ringgit was the highest denomination ever issued for general circulation in Malaysia, and it didn't survive long in public hands. Bank Negara withdrew the 1000 and 500 Ringgit notes in 1999 primarily to combat money laundering and tax evasion — large-denomination notes had become the preferred medium for black-market transactions, and the central bank judged the risk no longer worth tolerating. Legal tender status was revoked in July 1999, giving holders a strict redemption window.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the series at New Malden throughout their final decades before the firm was absorbed by De La Rue in 1990. Their intaglio work on Malaysian notes from this period is technically accomplished, though the watermark-only security specification looks thin by later standards.
The 1000 Ringgit was the highest denomination ever issued for general circulation in Malaysia, and it didn't survive long in public hands. Bank Negara withdrew the 1000 and 500 Ringgit notes in 1999 primarily to combat money laundering and tax evasion — large-denomination notes had become the preferred medium for black-market transactions, and the central bank judged the risk no longer worth tolerating. Legal tender status was revoked in July 1999, giving holders a strict redemption window.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the series at New Malden throughout their final decades before the firm was absorbed by De La Rue in 1990. Their intaglio work on Malaysian notes from this period is technically accomplished, though the watermark-only security specification looks thin by later standards.