Money

1. Currency Exchange

The local currency used in the country of Malaysia is called Ringgit Malaysia (RM). One ringgit comprises of 100 sen. The Ringgit banknotes are available in the denominations of RM1, RM2, RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100 while coins are available in the denomination of one sen, five sen, 10 sen, 20 sen, 50 sen and RM1. You can convert your foreign currency as well as traveler's checks into Malaysian currency at banks or from established moneychangers anywhere in the country.

Resident travelers can carry an amount up to RM1, 000 per person in and out of Malaysia. They are allowed to export foreign currency up to RM10, 000 per person. For carrying cash in and out of the country above the specified limits, a prior permission must be obtained from the Controller of Foreign Exchange and the resident travelers are also required to declare the exact amount in the Traveler's Declaration Form. For an amount more than US$2,500 carried by foreigners, declaration in the Disembarkation Card of the Immigration Department is necessary.

2. What A Dollar Will Buy You

The costs of some of the most common everyday items are as follows:

Item Price in US$

Small bottle of water $ 0.25

Small bottle of beer $ 3

Internet access $ 1

Cheap restaurant meal $ 5

Short taxi rides $ 4

Bus ticket $ 6

Average Meal Prices

Low Mid High

US$ 3-6 US$ 4-20 US$ 9 - 15

3. Telecommunications

Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is the only fixed-telephony company in Malaysia and it also offers various other telecommunication services that include cellular service, Internet access and other multimedia services. Various fixed-telephony services include DDI (Direct Dialing In), Freephone 1-800 service, fixed telephone, international conference calls and home country direct service. Other service providers for cellular services are listed below:

DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (using the 016 prefix)

Celcom (M) Bhd (using the 019 prefix)

Telekom Cellular Sdn Bhd (wholly owned by Telekom Malaysia and using the 013 prefix)

Maxis Communications Bhd (using the 012 prefix)

The names of four leading Internet Access Providers in the country include Jaring, Putra.net, TMNet and Maxis.net. The country code for Malaysia is 60 and some of the Emergency Telephone numbers in Malaysia are as follows:

Police (general)/ Ambulance: 999

Fire/ Rescue: 994

You can make calls from phone booths throughout the country. These phone booths accept coins or phone cards to make calls. You can make International calls using phone cards from these public phone booths.

4. Cab Fares

There are plenty of taxis available throughout Malaysia and most of them running in larger cities charge on the basis of taximeters. It is recommended to confirm the same in advance and negotiate the fares if a meter is not in place. Taxis in major cities are generally air-conditioned. You can also buy a taxi ticket from the airport by specifying the name of your hotel. At certain places such as the airport, KL Tower and KL Sentral, taxis operate on a coupon system.

To take a taxi from Kuala Lumpur to any other state, you can go to Puduraya Bus Terminal on Jalan Pudu (Level 2). Fares have to be negotiated and taxis will wait until there are four passengers. The full load fares can be around RM200 to the city of Malacca, RM180 to the Cameron Highlands, RM350 to Penang and to Kuantan, and R350 to Johor Bahru. Flag fall applicable for the first two kilometers is RM 1.50 and the fare increases by 50 sen for every km there after. A 50% surcharge is applied on the cab fare for cab rides between midnight and 6 am.

In most places in Malaysia, you will come across taxi queues from where you can board a taxi to reach any destination.

5. Currency Exchange Rates

Listed below are the approximate currency exchange rates

Currency = MYR 1 MYR =

Australian dollar 2.690764 0.371642

Brazilian real 1.665584 0.60039

British pound 6.680364 0.149692

Canadian dollar 3.303781 0.302683

Chilean peso 0.006726 148.6824

Chinese yuan renminbi 0.460963 2.169373

Czech koruna 0.162215 6.164653

Danish krone 0.619368 1.614548

Euro 4.623565 0.216283

Hong Kong dollar 0.474579 2.107133

Hungarian forint 0.016311 61.30968

Indian rupee 0.079808 12.53012

Indonesian rupiah 0.000394 2538.614

Israeli shekel 0.823663 1.214089

Japanese yen 0.03167 31.57536

Mexican peso 0.323403 3.092118

New Zealand dollar 2.192671 0.456065

Norwegian krone 0.586399 1.705323

Polish zloty 1.130735 0.884381

Saudi riyal 0.983205 1.017082

Singapore dollar 2.307416 0.433385

South African rand 0.50505 1.980003

South Korean won 0.00384 260.4361

Swedish krona 0.500426 1.998299

Swiss franc 2.951599 0.338799

Taiwan new dollar 0.113179 8.835537

Thai baht 0.095854 10.43254

Turkish new lira 2.298297 0.435105

US dollar 3.68702 0.271222

6. Taxes

In Malaysia, a service charge equivalent to 10% is levied on hotel and restaurant bills. Additional government tax of 5% is also applied on the bills. Upon departure from Malaysia, airport tax around RM5 is levied for domestic flights, while the tax is about RM40 for international flights.

7. Tipping

The practice of tipping is not prevalent in Malaysia and tipping solely depends on your discretion. Generally, all hotels and major restaurants include a 10% service charge along with a 5% government tax in the bill. These additions are indicated by ++ sign often displayed on menus and tariff cards. Taxis in all main cities operate on the basis of a taximeter, although 50% surcharge is applicable for cab fares from midnight to 6am.