The ringgit, unofficially known as the Malaysian dollar, divided into 100 sen or cents, is the monetary unit of Malaysia (currency code MYR). The Brunei dollar is also called the ringgit in Malay. The word ringgit means "jagged" in Malay, and was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the area.
In 1837 the Indian rupee was made the sole official currency in the Straits Settlements, but in 1867 silver dollars were again legal tender. In 1903 the Straits dollar, pegged at two shillings and fourpence (2s. 4d.), was introduced by the Board of Commissioners of Currency and private banks were prevented from issuing notes. Since then continuity of the currency was broken twice, once by the Japanese occupation 1942-1945, and secondly by the devaluation of the pound sterling in 1967, when notes of the Board of Commissioners of Currency Malaya and British Borneo lost 15% of their value. The new Bank Negara Malaysia and Singapore and Brunei Commissioners of Currency dollars were not devalued.
The Malay name ringgit was officially adopted as the sole name in August 1975. Previously it had been known as the dollar in English and the ringgit in Malay. However, the use of the dollar sign "$" was not replaced by "RM" (Ringgit Malaysia) until the 1990s.
Since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the ringgit has been pegged to the United States dollar at the fixed rate of 3.80 ringgit to the dollar.
