The pair of panda bears on loan to Malaysia by China will be placed at the Wetland Park in Putrajaya because of its location which is at the country's administrative centre, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said today.

He said the choice of the Wetland Park was made also because it was easy for the people to go.

"We appreciate the panda bears because they symbolise the close relationship between Malaysia and China.

"The people should have access to the bears and we choose the Wetland Park because the place is easy for the people to go," he told reporters after the 1Malaysia community gotong-royong with participants of the National Service Training Programme at Kampung Sauk in Lenggong today.

Mohamed Nazri said this in response to some quarters questioning the decision to place the bears at the Wetland Park.

   

Half of the bill footed by 1MDB

Yesterday, the Malaysian government signed an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), People's Republic of China (PRC), which will pave the way for the loan of the giant pandas to Malaysia.

NONE The two giant pandas, to be loaned to Malaysia for a period of 10 years, is a symbol to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations, to be celebrated in 2014.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, who witnessed the signing of the agreement yesterday, said the two pandas would be placed at the Wetland Park in Putrajaya.

He also said the park would be installed with infrastructure similar to the natural habitat of the giant pandas, and that the Yayasan 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) would bear half the cost of constructing the facilities.

- Bernama