diff --git a/select2.js b/select2.js
index f220a9a8..949a4384 100644
--- a/select2.js
+++ b/select2.js
@@ -160,16 +160,16 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
     }
 
     /**
-     * Splits the string into an array of values, trimming each value. An empty array is returned for nulls or empty
+     * Splits the string into an array of values, transforming each value. An empty array is returned for nulls or empty
      * strings
      * @param string
      * @param separator
      */
-    function splitVal(string, separator) {
+    function splitVal(string, separator, transform) {
         var val, i, l;
         if (string === null || string.length < 1) return [];
         val = string.split(separator);
-        for (i = 0, l = val.length; i < l; i = i + 1) val[i] = $.trim(val[i]);
+        for (i = 0, l = val.length; i < l; i = i + 1) val[i] = transform(val[i]);
         return val;
     }
 
@@ -1063,7 +1063,7 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
                         if (opts.initSelection === undefined) {
                             opts.initSelection = function (element, callback) {
                                 var data = [];
-                                $(splitVal(element.val(), opts.separator)).each(function () {
+                                $(splitVal(element.val(), opts.separator, opts.transformVal)).each(function () {
                                     var obj = { id: this, text: this },
                                         tags = opts.tags;
                                     if ($.isFunction(tags)) tags=tags();
@@ -2595,7 +2595,6 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
                 self=this;
 
             // TODO validate placeholder is a string if specified
-
             if (opts.element.get(0).tagName.toLowerCase() === "select") {
                 // install the selection initializer
                 opts.initSelection = function (element, callback) {
@@ -2610,7 +2609,7 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
             } else if ("data" in opts) {
                 // install default initSelection when applied to hidden input and data is local
                 opts.initSelection = opts.initSelection || function (element, callback) {
-                    var ids = splitVal(element.val(), opts.separator);
+                    var ids = splitVal(element.val(), opts.separator, opts.transformVal);
                     //search in data by array of ids, storing matching items in a list
                     var matches = [];
                     opts.query({
@@ -3213,7 +3212,7 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
                 return val === null ? [] : val;
             } else {
                 val = this.opts.element.val();
-                return splitVal(val, this.opts.separator);
+                return splitVal(val, this.opts.separator, this.opts.transformVal);
             }
         },
 
@@ -3429,6 +3428,9 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
             markMatch(this.text(result), query.term, markup, escapeMarkup);
             return markup.join("");
         },
+        transformVal: function(val) {
+            return $.trim(val);
+        },
         formatSelection: function (data, container, escapeMarkup) {
             return data ? escapeMarkup(this.text(data)) : undefined;
         },