KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians will have the chance to name the newly-born panda cub in a competition which will be held soon.
Deputy President of the National Zoo, Rosly@Rahmat Ahmat Lana said the competition would be held three months from when the cub was born on Aug 18.
“The decision was made to hold the competition to attract as many entries as possible from people throughout the country,” he told Bernama here today.
Rosly however said the conditions for entry will only be announced after taking into consideration the condition and health of the cub once it could receive visitors at the Giant Panda Conservation Centre.
The panda cub was the first born in Malaysia to the female giant panda named Liang Liang and her mate Xing Xing which are on loan from China for 10 years from 2014.
On the cub’s condition, Rosly said it was healthy, and its weight had increased by 15 grams to the current 190 grams.
He added that Malaysia would be requesting to extend the cub’s stay here to four years, compared to the two years previously agreed with China.
Meanwhile, Rosly said, it cost RM3,000 a month to care for the panda cub.
He added that the zoo was looking for sponsors to help it make the one-off payment to China after the cub’s birth.
The giant panda pair, formerly known as Fu Wa and Feng Yi, arrived in Malaysia on May 21, 2014 as a symbol of the 40-year diplomatic ties between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing.
On June 25 this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the new names of Xing Xing (prosperity) for the male panda and Liang Liang (beautiful) for the female panda for the time they are in this country.--BERNAMA
