Malaysia and Singapore share one of history’s most dramatic origin stories — united under British colonialism, briefly joined as one nation in 1963, then separated in 1965 when Singapore was expelled from the Federation in a moment Lee Kuan Yew called “a moment of anguish.” What followed was one of the great economic divergences of the modern era: Singapore became a global financial powerhouse; Malaysia grew into Southeast Asia’s most resource-rich industrial economy. Their banknotes — featuring sultans, national flowers, colonial-era architecture, and founding leaders — tell that story in ink and polymer.