KUALA LUMPUR: The two pandas to be loaned to Malaysia by China will boost the tourism industry as it will attract more foreign visitors, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.
She said foreign tourists were expected to flock to Malaysia
to see the giant pandas once they were brought here.
“I expect an influx of tourists from countries like
Indonesia and Singapore,” Dr Ng said after launching Malaysia Festival of the
Mind at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman here yesterday.
The loan request for the pair of pandas was made by Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao
during his visit to Nanning in April.
Dr Ng also revealed that the female panda that would be on
loan to Malaysia was fertile.
“We are hopeful it will be able to produce baby pandas
during its 10-year stay here,” said Dr Ng.
On critics who questioned Malaysia’s ability to care for the
pandas, she said China would not have agreed to lend them if Malaysia was not
capable of taking good care of the animals.
Malaysia, she said, had all the capability to take good care
of the mammals and added that the Government would work closely with panda
conservation specialists from China.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
said Malaysia is aiming to lure more investments from China, particularly in
the field of telecommunications, transportation, construction and steel
manufacturing under the country’s Economic Transformation Programme, reports
Bernama.
He said Malaysia welcomed multinational companies from China
to undertake the RM8bil Gemas to Johor Baru Electrified Double-Tracking project
that would span over 197km.
“We are delighted too that China has invited Malaysia to tap
the halal products market in Ning Xia. I do hope that more joint venture
projects will be undertaken both in Malaysia and China in the future,” he said
at a dinner last night which was hosted for a visiting Chinese Communist Party
delegation.
P.S. I fully agree with Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen. In fact it will be a good@creative idea to add stock of animal species of other countries too. As an example, the bear from the US, penguin from Iceland, Komodo Dragon (a large species of lizard found in the
Indonesian islands of Komodo) from Indonesia; and the Orang Utan from Sarawak.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/17/nation/11497520&sec=nation
I once read the zoonegara employees took home the food for animals (fruits), and now, I hope the workers at this panda sanctuary not stealing away the bamboo shoots for their own consumption, hahaha. By the way, will the pandas die of heat here, OR, do they have tons of air-conditioning units running there. If that is the case, admission fees must be sky-high.
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