On the 11th February 2010, Bank Negara issue a statement that those who have faded or discoloured banknotes can exchange them at Bank Negara or its branches throughout the country.
Earlier, an engineer in Petaling Jaya reported that the print had disappeared from 4 of his new RM50 notes which he had mistakenly left in his washing machine along with his laundry.
The printing on the new RM50 notes was completely washed off, including the serial number. What’s surprising is that an old RM50 note and other notes that got washed along with the new notes wasn’t damaged at all.
However, Bank Negara poit out that the event is rare. They also stress out that even the notes under such conditions, the distinguishing security features such as the watermark, security thread and security fibres in the paper remain intact to determine the authenticity of the banknote.