His name is Tan Sri William Howard Wilcox, his name is rarely known even by collector because we collector mostly remembers by the signature on the banknote.
Malaysia banknote only came out in 1967 during the 2nd Governor Tun Ismail Mohd Ali period.
He was an Australian born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Before he came to Malaya, he was an assistant governor of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Australia's central bank)
In 1958, he became the banking adviser to the Government of the Federation of Malaya to find out how a central bank could help the people of Malaya and the future industrial development of the country. He plays a role in the establishment of Bank Negara Malaysia.
After Bank Negara Malaysia Established on 26 January 1959, he was appointed as the first BNM governor at 1959 for 2 years (later extend 6 months)
During Tan Sri William Howard Wilcox inaugural as the first Governor of BNM, He says the following.
“I appreciate deeply the honour … in making me the first governor … but I believe most fervently that the head of any country’s central bank should be a national of that country.”
This is why after him, all the Governor of BNM are all Malaysian nationality, no foreign nationality ever appoint after him.
After he finished his term, Tun Ismail Mohamed Ali takes over as the Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. he then moves to Australia to fill the position of General Manager of the Note Printing Branch of the Reserve Bank of Australia and oversaw the introduction of Australia's decimal currency.
Reading references: Wikipedia of Bank Negara Malaysia: Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Bank_of_Malaysia
Tan Sri William Howard Wilcock story Source: https://lunaticg.blogspot.com/2013/02/tan-sri-william-howard-wilcock-story.html
The legacy of past governors Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2009/08/08/the-legacy-of-past-governors
RM1 Aishah – A quirky story revealed from our Bank Negara Malaysia's history! Source: https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2018/06/383509/rm1-aishah-%E2%80%93-quirky-story-revealed-our-bank-negara-malaysias
Picture References:
BNM portraits of Tan Sri William Howard Wilcox Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fbnm_mag%2Fstatus%2F1247794884267786241&psig=AOvVaw1O-3cx00oUxlSZVMP5YFJB&ust=1594208793485000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCLjVzcKJu-oCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
