TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two videos claiming that Malaysian currency is rejected in Thailand, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia as the rupiah strengthens circulated on Instagram [archive], Facebook, and TikTok on January 27, 2026.
The videos show several content creators discussing the rejection of Malaysian ringgit at currency exchange services in several Southeast Asian countries. “Malaysia is in shock. The ringgit is rejected worldwide, while the rupiah is in high demand in Saudi Arabia,” wrote several accounts.
However, is it true that the ringgit currency will be rejected in a number of countries in 2026?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified this content through credible websites and interviewed three economic researchers. The result is that the rejection of the Malaysian currency has been a rumor since 2016.
Origin of the Rumor
News of the rejection of Malaysian currency abroad, especially in Thailand, has been circulating on social media since 2016. Quoting the Bernama news agency, The New Straits Times reported that a number of currency exchange outlets in Bangkok and Jakarta denied the issue. The outlet managers emphasized that there were no obstacles to Ringgit transactions and that they had sufficient supplies.
Similar rumors continued to surface in subsequent years. Tempo's investigation revealed that the claim originated from a TikTok post by syafirulizwan in 2022.
Similar videos have also been circulating on the TikTok account cikguqiqin since 2022. Both content creators refer to an article on the Kosmo website published in 2022 that discusses the issue of Malaysia's currency exchange refusal.
Adhitya Wardhono, a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Jember, in Indonesia, believes that this narrative lacks a solid basis. According to him, no authority has ever issued an official policy to block certain currencies.
Adhitya explained that currency exchange operators have the right to accept or reject currencies based on considerations such as demand, liquidity, operational costs, and risk management. “It could also be because the outlet limits transactions to certain currencies,” he said.
Executive Director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) Esther Sri Astuti also said that the claim of Ringgit rejection is inaccurate. Referring to her observations during a visit to Malaysia at the end of last year, Esther actually saw real economic progress there.
Is it true that the rupiah has strengthened against the Malaysian ringgit?
According to Free Malaysia Today, the ringgit was the best performing currency in 2025. In contrast, the rupiah exchange rate actually fell against the currencies of neighboring countries, as reported by CNBC Indonesia in early 2026.
The rupiah fell 2.98 percent against the Thai baht, weakened 1.95 percent against the Malaysian ringgit, and weakened 1.78 percent against the Singapore dollar. The data was observed from the beginning of the year until January 21, 2026.
Adhitya Wardhono, a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Jember, said that the rupiah exchange rate against the ringgit (MYR) has actually weakened over the past year. For example, to get 1 MYR, we had to exchange it for Rp4,270 on February 6, 2026.
“This does not align with the narrative that the ringgit is widely rejected or considered worthless,” Adhitya told Tempo on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
Teuku Riefky, a macroeconomic and financial market researcher at the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, also said that the narrative on social media was incorrect. According to him, the Malaysian ringgit exchange rate is more stable, even though economic growth is still below that of Indonesia.
The Indonesian currency exchange rate is unstable due to relatively poor market transparency and policy uncertainty. “This has caused capital outflows from Indonesia,” said Riefky on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
CONCLUSION
Tempo's verification concluded that the narrative claiming the Malaysian ringgit is rejected in various countries while the rupiah is in high demand is false.
The content used to spread this narrative originated from social media in 2022. Meanwhile, the rupiah has actually tended to weaken against the ringgit over the past year.
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