Guest guest Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 August 06, 2007 22:29 PM Gazette Shrinking Zoo Negara, Says Azmi KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 (Bernama) -- Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid today proposed that the Selangor Government immediately gazette Zoo Negara, saying that the animal sanctuary has already lost eight hectares of its 48.56-hectare area to encroachment. " If it is not gazetted immediately, I fear that its land size will shrink further, " he told reporters during a visit to the zoo here. Azmi said he would submit a working paper on the matter to the Cabinet. " The Federal Government has no say on the land. I can only give advice. The rest is up to the Selangor Government, " he said. He said that so long as Kuala Lumpur continued to develop, the area occupied by the zoo would be in danger of encroachment because its strategic location and high real estate value were a draw for developers. Zoo Negara, which was set up by the country's first prime minister, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj, is a sanctuary for the breeding of near-extinct species of animals and a supplier of various animal species to zoos around the world. " This is the most appropriate time, when we are celebrating our 50th anniversary of independence, to recall the Tunku's deeds and we have to maintain the zoo in line with the government's desire to conserve the environment, " he said. Azmi said Zoo Negara had applied for the title to its land about 20 years ago but it had yet to receive it. " It does matter if it does not get the title but the more important thing is for it to be gazetted, " he said. -- BERNAMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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