PM Najib Expresses Happiness Over Birth Of Baby Panda

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has expressed his happiness over the birth of a baby panda in the Zoo Negara (Malaysia's national zoo) on Tuesday. "I'm glad that Liang Liang has given birth to a baby panda at 1.45 pm today (Tuesday)," he announced on his Facebook and Twitter account. On July 11, the giant panda pair, Xing Xing and Liang Liang, were reported to have failed in their attempt to mate for the second time after a year at the Giant Panda Conservation Centre. The giant pandas arrived from Chengdu, China, on May 21 last year, and will be in Malaysia on loan for 10 years to symbolise the 40th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations. Under the Malaysia-China Giant Panda International Conservation Agreement programme signed in 2012, Malaysia has the opportunity to undertake giant panda conservation research, besides being able to develop and train local experts in the field. --BERNAMA