KUALA LUMPUR // Malaysians are embracing gold dinars introduced last month by the northern state of Kelantan to promote the usage of Islamic currency as an alternative to paper money, an official today. The gold coins and silver dirhams were introduced last month by the Islamic opposition party PAS, which rules Kelantan state to coincide with the start of Ramadan. Umar Ibrahim Vadillo, chief executive of Kelantan Golden Trade, said the first batch of gold and silver coins, worth two million ringgit (Dh2.36m) had been sold out in less than a month. "There is enormous response in Malaysia. Their reaction is unbelievable," he told reporters.
"In Kelantan, businesses including garage owners and taxi drivers are using the gold and silver coins." Civil servants in Kelantan are paid up to 25 per cent of their salary in dinars and dirhams if they wish. Mr Umar said three more Malaysian states controlled by the opposition, Selangor, Kedah and Penan, had indicated interest in minting similar coins. "By the end of the year, we anticipate sales of the dinars and dirhams to hit 60 to 70 million ringgit," he said.
According to Islamic law, the dinar coin is 4.25 grams of gold, while the dirham is three grams of pure silver. A gold coin is equivalent to about 582 ringgit, while the silver coin is worth around 13 ringgit but their values fluctuate according to market prices. The coins were intended to be used as an alternative to the Malaysian ringgit and sen but are not legal tender. "Of course it is not legal tender," Mr Umar said. "The gold dinar is a commodity. The use of it is on a voluntary basis."
However, "the people in Kelantan have spoken loud and clear that they like the gold and silver coins," Mr Umar said. He added that the government of Kelantan "has not received any petition from the government of Malaysia" against using the coins. The former Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose administration promoted a moderate form of Islam that emphasised economic and scientific development, shot down the proposal to use the traditional Islamic currencies.
But his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, was an advocate of the dinar system and urged Muslim countries to use it as a trade instrument. * AFP
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8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
The Good Karma Co
From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes.
www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
Re:told
One Dubai boutique, Re:told, is taking second-hand garments and selling them on at a fraction of the price, helping to cut back on the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothes thrown into landfills each year.
Lush
Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
Bubble Bro
Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.
Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
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Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
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