Roaring support for Zoo Negara

Last week, NST reported that Zoo Negara requires more traffic to sustain itself.

via GIPHY

Zoo Negara Malaysia deputy president Rosly claims that there has been a decline in visitors to the national zoo since 2015, resulting in no room for expansion of the zoo as a facility for education, conservation and scientific research.

via GIPHY

In response, Malaysians visited Zoo Negara over the weekend, showing their love and support for the national tourist site.

A number of Malaysians also strongly encouraged volunteering as a way to experience the animals differently and also to help out!

i really encourage u guys to volunteer for zoo negara. the experience i had was amazing & sometimes, scary (pernah takut kena kejar zirafah).

the price is only RM30. the procedure is here: https://t.co/HFcfmlbJrT…. plus, u can still stay after ur done & do some sightseeing! ✨ pic.twitter.com/EUnPv8SQPp

— eros (@sunfloweraidil) May 20, 2019

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On 18th May 2019, Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) held the 1st MNS volunteering programme: Wildfriends at Zoo Negara. . . 11 participants joined this programme as our volunteers to volunteered themselves at Zoo Negara and thank you so much for spending your time and energy to volunteer during the Ramadhan month. For your information, Wildfriends programme is held to provide opportunities for youth to participate in volunteering activities held by MNS to explore & experience nature on field. . . The programme was started with volunteering session which conducted by the Zoo Negara Officers and we had some sharing session. Also, we had our Zoo Explorace around the zoo. Lastly, thank you to all the volunteers that participated our 1st Wildfriends programme for this year! Hope more to come 😁 . . #malaysiannaturesociety #MNS #Natureeducationcentre #NEC #Wildfriendsprogramme #Volunteering #Zoonegara #natureleaders #tapirwarrior

A post shared by Nature Education Centre Camp (@nec.camp) on May 20, 2019 at 7:03pm PDT

Some Malaysians also shared ideas on sustaining interest in Zoo Negara for the long-term, not just short-term.

I would LOVE to spend my weekends at our Zoo Negara. Watching the animals, enjoying the walk for a day out. Tapi bila tengok harga tiket, terus kecut. Imagine if they made it more affordable…the amount of local visitors who have nothing to do for the day that would drop by.

— Atif Zul (@atifzulsprock) May 19, 2019

Others urged the government to step up and look into improving Zoo Negara. The Zoo Negara Malaysia deputy president Rosly has reached out to government bodies to discuss future plans for the zoo.

Contrary to popular belief, Zoo Negara is actually fully owned and operated by an NGO, hence their only sources of funding comes from gate collections and support from donors or corporate sponsors.

Looks like Zoo Negara needs to revamp their management urgently. Hope YB @xavierjayakumar kindly get professional Audit firm look into Zoo Negara accounts & financials then revamp the management in Zoo Negara.
Get new team who r experts in Zoo & Animal Management !

— Jess (@jezlai) May 18, 2019

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It is clear that Zoo Negara is well-beloved by Malaysians, having been a long-standing national attraction.

For more information on the zoo, ticket prices, or volunteer applications, you canvisit their website here.