In Malaysia, cash is still recognised as a legitimate tender despite the existence of cashless payment, meaning that people can still whip out the banknotes to pay whenever necessary.
However, a man in Perak was left bewildered after a vendor refused to accept a 20 sen as a form of payment due to the coin’s dark exterior.
M’sian vendor refuses to accept man’s 20 sen, says it’s ‘too dark’
The matter was revealed to Oriental Daily by DAP Taman Pertama branch chairman Ho Pek Fan, who explained what had transpired.
According to Ho, he said the man had bought two cans of bean paste priced at RM5.60 each at a store yesterday (June 24).
When he proceeded to make payment, he took out RM11 and a 20-sen coin. To his shock, the vendor allegedly refused to accept it, saying that the coin was “too dark”.
Needless to say, the man was left feeling confused by the vendor’s reply and asked why he rejected the 20-sen coin. In response, the vendor countered with another question of his own: “If it were you, would you accept it?”
‘No basis to reject coin’
In light of the incident, Ho said it was normal for coins to lose its original sheen after years of circulation.
For example, the 20-sen coin in question was issued in 1981, which was 44 years ago. As long as it remains legal tender, merchants have no justification for rejecting it.
“This is different from defaced banknotes, where people deliberately draw on or write on it and it’s understandable if merchants refuse to accept such notes.
“However, coins that darken through regular circulation are not deliberately damaged by consumers, so rejecting them is unreasonable, unless the government officially declares such coins as demonetised and no longer legal for transactions,” he explained.
Ho added that he hopes the government would provide further clarification on the matter so that it can prevent similar disputes in the future.
A cafe recently caused a huge online debate after a customer slammed it for only accepting cashless payment:
