[PHOTOS] “Smelly and filthy!” Malaysian laments over poor conditions in Zoo Negara

The severity of COVID-19’s impact on business is unprecedented. Ever since the pandemic began, there was much news about Zoo Negara undergoing tough times due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) since last year and was in danger of shutting down.

Many Malaysians, however, showed their immense support for Zoo Negara by giving donations and paying a visit after it finally opened its doors to the public. Unfortunately, its woes are yet to be over.

Facebook user, Kinz Lai, shared his heartbreaking experience while visiting the zoo in a lengthy post, which has garnered 3,800 reactions and 8,oo0 shares.

Lai began his post with a one-liner question: “Is this our National Zoo?” showing his utter disbelief in witnessing its dilapidated condition during his recent visit.

He also questioned why the government wasn’t doing anything to improve the zoo’s conditions as it represents Malaysia’s image on the global stage.

“Almost all of the air-conditioners were not functioning. I hardly saw any staff or workers implementing the SOPs at the entrance,” he wrote.

“The aquariums were an absolute eyesore. It was filthy with algae-coated glass panels, and to make things worse, some fishes were dead too!”

“It was really uncomfortable to see those animals living in such a terrible environment!”

After the aquarium visit, Lai was expecting a better experience at the penguin enclosure. However, he was wrong.

“The water and the glass panels were dirty and murky. Is this how a penguin looks like? They don’t even have clean water to drink. Why has the zoo reached such a terrible state?”

Besides the environment, he also noticed that most of the animals looked stunted.

“I have been to zoos in Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea. I don’t want to make any comparisons but why can’t our country practice basic hygiene?”

Lai later learned that Zoo Negara is managed by a non-governmental organization (NGO) after his visit. However, he still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that the government did not contribute funds to improve the zoo’s deplorable state.

He ended the post with a message to the public:

“I hope everyone can pay Zoo Negara a visit or make a donation so that they will have the funds to make proper improvements. Protecting animals is everyone’s responsibility.”

Sources: Facebook/ Kinz Lai

Editor: Raymond Chen
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh