Panda cub Yi Yi is pictured at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur August 1, 2019. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — The name of second giant panda born in Malaysia was finally revealed today as “Yi Yi”.

According to Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar, the name meant “friendship” in Mandarin and was chosen to commemorate the over four decades of Malaysia-China ties.

“It is my hope that our friendship with China will not be limited to only giant panda conservation efforts but also diplomatically and economically,” he said after announcing the name at the National Zoo’s Giant Panda Conservation Centre here today.

Yi Yi, born on January 14 last year at the National Zoo, is the second offspring of giant pandas Xing Xing and Liang Liang that China loaned to Malaysia for 10 years to commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between both countries.

China’s Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian said the panda pair’s second cub proved that the friendship between China and Malaysia was growing and expressed hope that it will raise awareness of this.

“I believe the friendship will grow bigger, stronger, healthier, robust and prosperous like the new giant panda cub,” said Bai during a press conference after the official naming ceremony.



The name Yi Yi was picked by the Malaysian counterpart from the three names submitted internally within the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Panda.



When asked when Yi Yi will be returned to China, Xavier said there were no plans to do so at the moment.



“We haven’t decided yet. It depends on how comfortable they are here,” he said.



Yi Yi, which weighs about 50kg now, will stay in Malaysia for two years more than the two-year period set in the Malaysia-China Giant Panda International Conservation Agreement.



On how much it will cost to house the giant pandas, Dr Xavier said the conservation fee was US$1 million (RM4.14 million) for the adult giant pandas and US$600,000 for the cub.

In 2012, Malaysia made a significant breakthrough in its diplomatic ties with China when Beijing announced it would place two giant pandas to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the two countries’ official relations.

The pandas are part of China’s so-called “Panda Diplomacy”, where it sends the creatures to friendly nations as a diplomatic gift. The custom traces back to the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century.