By LIM MUN FAH
Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE
Sin Chew Daily

Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Chai Xi said that if the Malaysian government is keen on borrowing giant pandas, he will help to make it happen.

In fact, Zoo Negara had negotiated with China two years ago, hoping to get a pair of giant pandas through an animal exchange programme.

However, the plan came out to nothing. I believe that the main reason is because giant pandas, with only 1,600 left in the world, are too precious to be exchanged. It is understood that China has stopped giving giant pandas to other countries as diplomatic gifts since 2007, but lent them on a 10-year-loan basis to serve scientific research purposes, with an extremely high rental.

Under the plan, giant pandas will be lent to foreign countries for 10 years and borrowers have to pay China an annual rental of US$1 million. If a cub is born during the lending period, the annual rental will be increased by US$600,000 and the cub must be returned to China after two years. If the pandas die, their carcasses must also be returned to China. China has the right to send technicians for research purposes.

In addition, borrowers must also bear the cost of building a special panda enclosure. Take the UK Edinburgh Zoo as an example, it spent as much as £285,000 on building the pandas an enclosure and faces an annual bill of £70,000 for organic bamboo shoots. Some people said that the panda diplomacy existed as far back as the Tang Dynasty has now evolved into a panda economy.

Nevertheless, many zoos around the world are still trying everything possible to get them, some even seek help from their governments. It is because giant pandas usually attract many visitors. The Edinburgh Zoo hopes that the pandas could help increase at least 35% of visitors and £2 million of income in 10 years.

However, no one knows whether giant pandas can also bring such a huge revenue to Zoo Negara. It is because the pandas might be able to attract visitors for a short period of time, but the lack of highlights in the zoo might cause everything back to the status quo when the craze for panda subsides.

Therefore, in addition to be a symbol of bilateral friendship and to serve commercial purposes, the move of bringing in giant pandas should also serve the purpose of raising awareness to protect endangered animals.

As for panda adoption, it is more appropriate to be done by private enterprises, such as the GuocoLand (China) Limited, a property arm of Hong Leong Group, has become the first in the country to adopt a baby panda for life. As for the MCA, it should focus on politics and dispel the idea of panda adoption, to avoid unnecessarily turning it into another political issue!