Singapore’s central bank says sorry after misspelling name of city-state's first president
The name of the late president Yusof Ishak was spelt “Yusok Ishak” on packaging of a special currency issue marking the country’s 50th year of independence
PUBLISHED : Friday, 21 August, 2015, 1:48pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 22 August, 2015, 4:20am
Agence France-Presse in Singapore
A misspelling of Singapore's first president "Yusok Ishak" (third para) on a folder kit of the S$50 commemorative note. Photo: AFP
Singapore’s central bank has apologised for misspelling the name of the city-state’s first president on the packaging of a special currency issue marking the country’s 50th year of independence.
The name of the late president Yusof Ishak was spelt “Yusok Ishak” on the cover folder containing the S$50 and S$10 commemorative notes, launched on Thursday, much to the embarrassment of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
“This should never have happened, is not acceptable, and I take full responsibility,” MAS managing director Ravi Menon said.
“I apologise on behalf of my colleagues who worked hard to prepare the notes and folders, but are deeply disappointed that we made this most unfortunate mistake. We will put this right.”
A S$50 commemorative note is displayed in Singapore. Photo: AFP
Apart from the cover folder, the error also appeared in an enclosed booklet, although there were no mistakes on the dollar notes celebrating the anniversary.
Apart from Yusof’s portrait, the special S$50 note also contains the image of the country’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March.
The MAS said it was printing stickers to fix the error and will make them available for those who have already bought the package to paste over the misspelled name.
Long queues of buyers formed outside banks when the collectible currency went on sale on Thursday.
Singapore, one of the world’s wealthiest societies, marked its 50th independence day this month with fireworks, a massive military parade and a celebration of its rapid economic development.
The island became a republic on August 9, 1965, when it was ejected from the Malaysian federation following a stormy two-year union.
