Major Changes Coming to Indonesian Banknotes, Coins
Jakarta: The central bank has revealed that major changes will be made to Indonesian banknotes and coins and that they will soon display the images of a new set of national heroes, in addition to improved security features to prevent counterfeiting.
"Bank Indonesia will immediately prepare the design and issuance mechanism, which will be done and announced this year," Bank Indonesia director Arbonas Hutabarat said in a statement on Wednesday (14/09).
The central bank did not provide an exact timeline.
The statement came after Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said earlier on the same day that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo wants the country to show greater appreciation of its national heroes and promote patriotism by featuring their faces on all banknotes and coins.
Details of the new designs are not yet available, but a new list of national heroes has been issued by presidential decree. This now includes I Gusti Ngurah Rai and Tjut Meutia among several others, whose images will be displayed on the Rp 50,000, Rp 20,000, Rp 10,000, Rp 2,000 and Rp 1,000 banknotes.
The decree also mandates the images of national heroes to be displayed on the surfaces of the Rp 1,000, Rp 500, Rp 200 and Rp 100 coins. These currently show the Garuda national symbol, a jasmine flower and indigenous birds.
Despite the major changes, the government is keeping the images of Indonesia's founding fathers Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta on the Rp 100,000 note.
Use of the names and images of the Indonesian national heroes in question has been approval by their respective families.
Source:
Jakarta Globe