Natural Resources and Environment Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said today the cost to maintain two pandas loaned from China will not be at the expense of local animals, particularly endangered wildlife.

NONE “This panda programme does not sacrifice our conservation programme. Our tiger national conservation plan is on track and other conservation programmes are running smoothly.

“For example, now we have also constructed viaducts which cost us RM60 million because there are some roads in the jungle and this facility is to protect the wild animals from being knocked down by cars,” he told a press conference after surveying Taman Wetlands in Putrajaya, which will soon host the pandas.

Conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia opposes the panda loan, stressing that the funds would be better spent on local endangered wildlife.

Earlier, Douglas briefly surveyed the park, which will soon host a RM30 million facility.

He said other local endemic species would also be housed at the park, on top of a bird aviary, as part of the country’s conservation programme as well as a tourism draw.

On top of the facility, Malaysia would also have to pay a conservation fee of US$1 million a year for the 10-year loan of the pandas, he said.

As for the upkeep costs for the pandas, Douglas said the figure would only be released later after it has been brought to the cabinet.

‘Money can’t buy diplomacy’

Despite the price tag, Douglas said that the panda diplomacy with China could not have a monetary price tag.

“How do you evaluate the diplomatic relationship created by this goodwill?... we are the 13th country to get this privilege.

“I don’t think we can give you that in dollars and cents, because it shows how close are we with China,” he said.

NONE Construction of the facility at the wetlands will begin in three months and is expected to be completed within a year, with 1MDB footing half of its construction cost.

Upon completion, Douglas said the facility would be managed by the Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Ministry through Perbadanan Putrajaya.

Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Veterinary Medicine Faculty, which is located 10 minutes away from the facility, would be put in charge of the pandas’ health, he added.

Officials of Perbadanan Putrajaya and the Wildlife and National Parks Department will also be sent to China for training to become familiar with the pandas.

He added that the government hoped funds from the private sector, as well as entrance fees to see the pandas and other animals at Taman Wetlands, would be able to cover the cost of maintaining the pandas.

“If you look at the experience of Thailand, in the first year they managed to attract almost 850,000 visitors.

“From the financial point of view, that can easily cover the operations cost plus the conservation fee,” he said, adding that some 300,000 visitors are expected in the first year.

NONE Fifteen acres of land at Wetlands will also be planted with bamboos for the pandas’ food supply.

We have 15 acres (to plant bamboos), but it is not enough. We need a lot more and we have already identified Paya Indah Wetlands for more bamboo plantations,” he said.

He added that Malaysia had 26 types of bamboo, of which only five are deemed suitable for the pandas.

“But we will be sending samples of the other types to China to see whether they are suitable as panda food or not,” he said.

‘Malaysia can afford to keep pandas’

Asked to comment about a Taiwanese report that the Atlanta Zoo in the US is mulling whether to send back a family of five pandas to China due to excessive cost in feeding the animals, Douglas said he was confident this would not befall Malaysia as well.

“We don’t know the problem that they are facing but we are very confident that we will be able to maintain them (the pandas) for 10 years,” he said.

Want China Times had reported that the five pandas in Atlanta had to be fed from 1,500 farms and the choosy animals would only eat some 20 of 200 types of edible materials collected by specialist nutritionists.

Douglas said if anything unfortunate were to happen, including the death of the pandas, the agreement with China had clearly stated the necessary procedures.

“In the agreement, there are various scenarios, so these have all been taken care of. We pray it (unfortunate incidents) do not happen,” he added.

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