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THE GOLD DINAR RESEARCH GROUP

Malaysia Presses Ahead on Use of Gold dinar for International Trade

tehrantimes.com 24/10/2002

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will set up a secretariat to study and promote the use of the gold dinar as currency for international trade if the cabinet agrees, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday.

Mahathir was responding to a request by a delegate from the Iranian Central Bank at an international seminar on the "Gold dinar in Multilateral Trade" here.

"If the cabinet agrees, then the Malaysian Central Bank will set up this secretariat," AFP quoted him as telling reporters after officially closing the seminar.

Iran has expressed its support for the use of the gold dinar which, according to Islamic law, is roughly equivalent to 4.3 grams.

Its value is based on world demand for gold. Mahathir, who is also finance minister, floated the idea in March, saying it could help prevent a repeat of the financial crisis which devastated Asia in 1997-1998, which he blames on "greedy" currency traders.

Mahathir's economic advisor Nor Mohamed Yakcop said in August that Malaysia expected to use gold dinars for trade with Islamic countries from mid-2003 and was already discussing the system with certain Islamic nations.

The move would be a strong step forward to unite Muslim nations, he said. Mahathir said Wednesday he had his eye on a few potential partners and that they were Muslim countries with strong and stable economies, but he did not name them.