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Rafflesia flower can be renamed as 'Anwar', suggests Wan Fayhsal
PARLIAMENT | Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) today suggested that the Rafflesia flower be renamed after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in conjunction with the country’s 68th National Day.
“Can’t we give our flower a better name? Perhaps the honourable minister could propose to the cabinet to find another, more beautiful name.
PARLIAMENT | Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) today suggested that the Rafflesia flower be renamed after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in conjunction with the country’s 68th National Day.
“Can’t we give our flower a better name? Perhaps the honourable minister could propose to the cabinet to find another, more beautiful name.
“Even the name Anwar Ibrahim is fine as long as it’s better,” said the opposition lawmaker while interjecting during the winding-up of the 13th Malaysia Plan by acting Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Johari Ghani.
Johari, in response, said he took note of the suggestion.
“I take note, if there’s a (new) name, then propose it,” he said.
Wan Fayhsal further pointed out that the name Rafflesia originated from Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a colonial figure.
He said this was in line with Anwar’s call for Malaysians to re-examine history beyond the colonial lens.
“Rafflesia was named after Stamford Raffles, our coloniser, a man without morals and ethics,” he added.
The name “Rafflesia” was given in honour of Raffles, who led the expedition where the plant was first documented.
The species name, arnoldii, was named after Dr Joseph Arnold, who was part of the same expedition.
The plant was first documented in the forests of Sumatra in 1818, and also in the forests of Borneo.
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I am sure Anwar would prefer Rafflesia to be re-named Hamasia, Gazasia or Hamasgazasia - take your pick. Wan Fayshal would no doubt support those names. Stamford Raffles saw the potential of Singapore and nurtured it to become the great city state that it is regarded the world over. The Malay elite are jealous of Singapore's success and need a scapegoat for their failure because Raffles left conditions for Malays to make a great success of Malaya but they blew it. Munshi Abdullah ( MA ) of Tamil and Arab ancestry, was a great friend of Raffles who commissioned MA to put together Malay history and literature into book form. Malays should be grateful to Raffles rather than demonising him. He defined them to a certain extent by giving them a history in the peninsula as well as literature . He also commissioned MA to translate the New Testament into Malay and Allah was used for God just as in the Indonesian Bible.