Yahoo – AFP,
21 May 2014
Feng Yi,
one of two giant pandas on loan from China, in its cage at MASkargo
near Kuala
Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on May 21, 2014 (Photo
by Mohd Rasfan)
|
Malaysia
welcomed a pair of pandas from China on Wednesday, after a month's delay caused
by tensions over the Malaysian airliner which disappeared in March with mostly
Chinese passengers aboard.
The
eight-year-old pandas -- female Feng Yi ("Phoenix") and male Fu Wa
("Lucky") -- arrived in Kuala Lumpur to an honour guard of water
cannon, after a flight from Chengdu in southwestern China where they were bred.
Feng Yi was
briefly shown to the media before being whisked off to the national zoo with
her prospective mate.
Feng
Yi, one of two giant pandas on loan from China, in its cage at MASkargo near Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on May 21, 2014 (Photo by Mohd Rasfan |
"May
the arrival of these two precious icons of China contribute to building an everlasting
friendship and sustainable cooperation" between Malaysia and China,
environment minister Palanivel Govindasamy said at a welcoming ceremony.
The two
countries agreed in 2012 that China would send the giant pandas for a 10-year
stay, in Beijing's latest use of "panda diplomacy".
The pair
were due to arrive on April 16 but Palanivel said at the time that before
dispatching them, Beijing was awaiting further details on Flight MH370, which
vanished on March 8 with 239 people including 153 Chinese on board.
The airline
and Malaysia's government have come under withering public criticism in China
over the loss, and the failure to find the plane that was en route from Kuala
Lumpur to Beijing.
The Boeing
777 jet is believed to have have veered far off course for reasons unknown,
before crashing into the remote Indian Ocean, where efforts are under way to
locate its flight data recorders on the seabed.
Chinese
relatives of the missing passengers have accused the Malaysian flag carrier and
authorities of bungling the response to the plane's disappearance and
withholding information.
In the
aftermath of the tragedy, Chinese authorities allowed relatives to stage a rare
public protest at Malaysia's embassy in Beijing, suggesting official support
for the criticism.
The
enclosure at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur where giant pandas Fu Wa
and Feng
Yi will live, pictured on May 20, 2014 (Photo by Mohd Rasfan)
|
Malaysia's
image in China took a further blow in April, when a Chinese tourist was
kidnapped in an eastern state by gunmen believed to be Islamic militants from
the southern Philippines. Malaysia has said ransom negotiations are under way.
China is
Malaysia's largest trading partner and Kuala Lumpur has been courting closer
ties with Beijing, declaring 2014 as "China-Malaysia Friendship Year"
to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
The pandas
have already caused controversy in Malaysia over plans to house them in special
$7.7 million facility at the national zoo in Kuala Lumpur.
Environmentalists
have said the money would have been better spent on conservation efforts for
threatened Malaysian wildlife.
Palanivel
said the panda pair would be given time to acclimatise before being shown to
the public from the end of June.
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