British Malaya refers to the following set of states on the Malay Peninsula—Federated Malay States (Selangor, Perak, Negeri, Sembilan, and Pahang), Unfederated Malay States (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu), and the Straits Settlements (Malacca, Penang, Singapore, and Dinding)— that were brought under British control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century.
British Malaya were not placed under a single unified administration until the formation of the Malayan Union in 1946. During the Second World War, Japan ruled a part of Malaya.
Two years after the formation of the Malayan Union, it was dissolved and replaced by the Federation of Malaya in 1948. The Federation of Malaya gained full independence on 31 August 1957. In 1963, the federation formed the Federation of Malaysia with North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore.
The Malayan dollar replaced the Straits dollar in 1939. The Malayan dollar was divided into 100 cents.
The Board of Commissioners of Currency became the sole power of issuing currency for the pan-Malayan States, including Brunei and the Straits Settlements.
The first series of Malayan notes featured the portrait of King George VI on front and the coat of arms of the Straits Settlements, the four Federated Malay states, the five Unfederated Malay states, and Brunei. The denominations included in the series were 1 dollar, 5 dollars, and 10 dollars. Due to the outbreak of World War II, emergency cent-notes were issued in lieu of coins. The denominations included were 10 cents and 25 cents.
In 1945, the board issued a new series of banknotes. These notes were printed prior to 1945 but were issued after the war. They had similar designs to the prior series. The denominations included in the series were 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, 5 dollars, 10 dollars, 50 dollars, 100 dollars, 1,000 dollars, and 10,000 dollars.
During World War II, Japanese forces invaded and governed over Malaya. The Japanese government issued their own notes for use throughout Malaya, replacing the Malayan notes at par. These notes bear the imprint of the Greater Japan Imperial Government in Japanese text. The Japanese-issued notes were called “banana notes” or “JIM” (Japanese Invasion Money). The issued denominations are 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, 5 dollars, 10 dollars, 100 dollars, and 1,000 dollars. After the war, stocks of these notes were overprinted with MALAYAN VJ WAR SOUVENIR Grim Memories of 1941-1945.
