Maungdaw: The Burmese military regime’s inability to make available small currency in many parts of the country is creating problems for shopkeepers and common people. The government department responsible has not issued small currency understandably because the cost of printing it has outstripped the actual value of the currency.

To tackle the situation, vendors and small businessmen started using a kind of token as small change for customers. But this irked the government department and many have had to face police action.  

On Sunday, around 30 shopkeepers in Maungdaw, western Burma were arrested by the police when they were found issuing tokens instead of small change because they did not have the balance due to the buyers.

“The police yesterday (May 30) asked local shopkeepers to come over to the Myoma police station in Maungdaw to discuss the issue. But they were in for a shock because they were detained once they arrived at the police station. They are still in police custody,” said a local businessman in Maungdaw.

As small change remains scarce in Maungdaw also, shopkeepers are using tokens instead of denominations like 200 kyat, 100 kyat and 50 kyat.

The businessman claimed that the government bank in the area has not issued small currency for many years. So shopkeepers in Maungdaw including tea houses, restaurants and vendors have been using tokens as small change for a long time, he added.

The detained shopkeepers include the owner of Shwe Nin Zee tea house, Khaing Tun food stuffs, Pyo tea house, San Thi Ha tea house, Shwe Pyan Lwa general store, Saydana store and Pedauk Rite store.

A Maungdaw police officer confirmed the detention and subsequent arrest of these people saying, “The tokens issued by the shopkeepers are inflated in the locality and hence the authorities have taken action against the shopkeepers.”

He also said that the arrested will be produced in Maungdaw township court soon. However the police officer refused to give more details.

The junta recently announced that the Myanmar Economic banks had started issuing new small currency for the people to ease the problem. But the banks in Maungdaw have not issued small notes to the public till date, the businessman said.

A government school teacher in Maungdaw on condition of anonymity said, “People in Maungdaw were angry with the action by the authorities as the arrest of the shopkeepers was irrational. The common people were forced to use the tokens as small change because the government banks could not issue small currency to the public. If the authorities do not like the system of tokens, it has the moral responsibility to issue small currency to the public in time.”