Malaysian appeal to name pandas backfires

A former close Najib associate was acquitted in the case, which at the time
sparked opposition accusations of a massive cover-up.

Malaysia will sign an agreement on Friday for the pandas, which Najib had
requested in April in a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as a sign of
strong diplomatic ties between the countries.

The majority of Malaysia’s 28 million people are Muslim ethnic Malays, but
ethnic Chinese make up a quarter of the population.

Najib, who must call elections by early next year, has sought to reach out to
the country’s minorities, many of whose voters abandoned his ruling party in
2008 polls.

Some Facebook users said Malaysia should first ensure protection and welfare
of its own endangered animals, such as tigers.

“The government cannot even maintain our (national zoo) and look after
the poor animal(s) in there … and now we are talking about taking care of
two pandas … You gotta be kidding me. Set your priority right,” one
posting said.

Malaysian officials have pledged recently to better protect zoo animals from
abuse and neglect following cases of animals found in poor conditions in
zoos.

Source: AFP

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