Kuala Lumpur: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Wednesday announced Xing Xing (prosperity) and Liang Liang (pretty) as the local names for giant pandas - Fu Wa and Feng Yi - from China. The prime minister said the names were chosen from the results of the national-level competition to name the pandas organised by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in 2012.
"We know that the giant pandas have Chinese names, but we also want them to have Malaysian names, especially when they have to be here for the next 10 years.
"I hope the pandas will not get confused as they now have two names - Chinese names and Malaysian names," he said jokingly when opening the Giant Panda Conservation Centre and the 50th anniversary of the National Zoo here today.
Najib said the pandas should be given local names to lure more people to visit them at the zoo.
The two Chinese giant pandas are here to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and China on May 31.
Loaned through the Malaysia-China Giant Panda International Conservation Agreement programme, the pandas were quarantined for about one month in a special place in Zoo Negara to enable them to adjust to the new environment.
Under the programme signed in 2012, Malaysia has the opportunity to undertake giant panda conservation research, besides being able to develop and train local experts in the field.
Najib said the panda conservation project was part of the bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and China and it was an honour for Malaysia as it also reflected the close ties between the two countries.
"I was made to understand that China had only sent 23 pandas to 14 countries. As such, this should be the symbol and gesture of a strong relationship between the two countries, which had existed for so long," he said.
On the construction of the RM25 million giant panda conservation centre, Najib said it was apt as the amount of trade between Malaysia and China had increased to over US$106 billion last year from US$200 million in 1974. - Bernama
