"Have you visited Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Million Ringgit Tunnel at Sasana Kijang, Kuala Lumpur? Did you know a million ringgits wasted just to make a fun tunnel for kids in the BNM Children's Gallery? The tunnel used real legal tender paper money with a face value of 1 million Ringgit, in my last visit there, I can only see my childrens in the gallery. What is the purpose of Million Ringgit Tunnel?"
A friend asked me during my teh tarik mamak session with few other friends on a Sunday morning. The questions do not end there.
"Do you realize how many Malaysia banknotes special prefix number in the tunnel?"
"Do you know how many 500 ringgit and 1000 ringgit notes in the tunnel?"
I just listen to what he want to says.
"Majority of the the banknotes in the tunnel are the old series, do you know how much money BNM can donate if they auction the banknote instead of BNM auctioning the current series special prefix banknotes on 27 September? Bank Negara should teach children to appreciate our Malaysian banknotes but instead they show how million Ringgit can be presented to childrens in this way."
I know the tunnel is using the real banknotes but I never thought of it like this. What I knew is that the 'Million Ringgit Tunnel' located in the Children's Gallery, Ground Floor, Sasana Kijang. The Tunnel is made up of all four series of Malaysian banknotes consisting of all denominations that total more than RM1 million in value. It suppose to attract the attention of children but in my opinion the parents was more interested in the tunnel compared with their kids. The tunnel has been opened since 15 September 2012.
I had the opportunity to visit the tunnel recently and almost cannot believe it, what my friend said is real. I can see many special prefix banknotes in the tunnel and some solid number notes are from the 4th series. I know for most of the BNM staff the banknotes prices are only on the denomination that written on the paper but why don't they check with collector first? A million ringgit for BNM staff might be a 5 million Ringgit in collector value.
Here are some of the fancy number banknotes that I can find:
Some of the notes are damaged because of mishandling and some are on severe folding because of its location at the edge of the tunnel.
I also found part of the tunnel (where plastic parts are connected) has been opened or maybe because the tunnel is over 2 years old and poorly maintained?
BNM need to look back, what is the purpose of Million Ringgit Tunnel? Whether it is able to attract the attention of visitors to Sasana Kijang or it is more suitable to be auctioned and the money from the auction donated to the chosen orphanage. Two years after the tunnel open, I don't see a real crowd coming to Sasana Kijang like what we can see in Museum Negara or childrens coming to the BNM museum just want to see the tunnel. If it is a waste of money, BNM should transfer the money from the tunnel project to something more beneficial to society.
