Pengguna perihatin

By SIM LEOI LEOI
The Star, 9 Mar 2002

PETALING JAYA: The relocation of Zoo Negara from its present premises in the Klang Valley may involve several hundred million ringgit in compensation.

Malaysian Zoological Society chairman Datuk Kington Loo said this comprised the value of the property on which it was located, its infrastructure of buildings and facilities and animal stock – all of which belonged to the non-profit-making society.

“If Zoo Negara is to be moved, someone must pay or look into the question of compensation because the zoo is a going entity worth several hundred million ringgit.

Loo...`Zoo Negara is a going entry worth several hundred million ringgit.`

“We also have to consider the needs of our workers as we have close to over 100 highly-skilled employees on contract and four qualified veterinarians, the largest number in a zoo.

“If we should move, then the staff will have to be pulled to another place or state and that will be a problem for us. We may even have to look into the possibility of retraining our staff,’’ he said in an interview.

Loo said the public tended to have a misconception about Zoo Negara, thinking that it was a government department.

“But it is wholly-owned and operated by the society, which has a few hundred members.

“The zoo belongs to the society although we do receive financial assistance and various grants from the Government. Therefore, it is not up to anyone, not even the Government, to request us to move to another location, unless our members decide otherwise,” he stressed, adding that the name Zoo Negara or National Zoo, which was suggested by the late Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, further added to that misconception.

Loo was commenting on an offer of land from the Pahang Government to Zoo Negara if it were to be relocated from its current site in Hulu Klang.

State Culture, Arts, Tourism and Women’s Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Maznah Mazlan had offered 120ha of land at the Krau Wildlife Reserve in Temerloh to house the zoo, maintaining that once the East Coast Highway was completed in 2003, it would only take a 45 minutes’ drive to reach it from Kuala Lumpur.

Pahang Tourism Promotion Association vice-chairman Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah had suggested another site in the state – in Lanchang.

Earlier reports had mentioned the possible relocation of Zoo Negara to Paya Indah in Dengkil, near Putrajaya.

However, Loo said the society, of which he is the chairman of the council, had not received any official request from any party for the zoo to be relocated.

“What I’ve seen are the reports in the newspapers and nothing has actually been communicated to us. Once there is an official request, then the council will put the proposal to the society and they will vote on it,” he said, adding that the society meets once a year.

Loo said it would also be expensive and quite hazardous to the animals if the zoo were to be relocated.“We have done a survey of the zoo and we have established there is enough space for its exhibits. It is also suitable for the convenience of the local population. Should we move to Pahang, this will mean another 45 minutes of travel,” he added.

Loo said the zoo had sufficient income from the sale of tickets, merchandise and beverages, and from public donations and sponsorship of animals to sustain itself.

“But we can always do with capital grants to spend on new buildings and improving our water supply. That’s why the recent government grants have been very useful to us,” he added.

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