JERANTUT, June 12 – Malaysia is still waiting for a decision from the Chinese government before sending a pair of Tapir as a goodwill gesture to reciprocate China’s decision to send two pandas to Malaysia.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said Malaysia had already informed the Chinese government of the decision to send a pair of Tapir to reciprocate China’s decision to send two pandas from Chengdu, China.
“We have informed China and if they (China) agree, we will send the Tapir by this year,” he told reporters opening the First National Protected Areas Managers’ Conference at Taman Negara Kuala Tahan, here Wednesday.
Asked if the public may be given free entry for one month to visit the giant pandas (Fu Wu) and (Feng Yi) from China at Zoo Negara, Palanivel said the proposal was being considered.
“The proposal is still in the discussion stage. Free entry might be limited to a week or 10 days,” he said.
Meanwhile, the First National Protected Areas Managers’ Conference saw 70 protected area managers, conservation practitioners, policy makers and experts across Malaysia gathering for the first time here, for three days starting today.
The conference is a collaboration of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malaysia and Global Environment Facility (GEF).
– BERNAMA
