Agriculture Dept tasked with choosing trees for planting ceremony in Istana Negara, says D-G
Published on: Saturday, February 03, 2024
By: Bernama
File picture of a view of Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur on August 19, 2021. (Malay Mail pic)
PUTRAJAYA: The Agriculture Department director-general Datuk Nor Sam Alwi said the department was entrusted with choosing the type of trees for the tree-planting ceremony held in conjunction with the Conference of Rulers Meeting as well as the official visits of Heads of State to Malaysia.
Eight types of trees already planted in conjunction with the Conference of Rulers were the Merbau trees (Instia palembanica), Cempaka Kuning (Michelia champaca), Rajah Kayu (Cassia fistula), Ceri Terengganu (Lepisanthes alata), Keriang (Syzygium claviflorum), Buah Ajaib (Synsepalum dulcificum), Sepang (Caesalpinia sappan I) and Mentega (Diospyrus blancoi), whereas the five trees planted in conjunction with visits by Heads of State were Melinjau (Gnetum gnemon), Gelam (Melaleuca cajuputi), Simpor (Dillenia suffruticosa), Nona (Annona squamosa) and Keranji (Dialium indum).
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In a statement today, Nor Sam said the tree-planting ceremony was the brainchild of Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who ended his reign as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on January 30, in conjunction with the official state ceremony held at the Istana Negara.
“The main criteria in selecting the type of trees for this ceremony was it must have significance to the state of the Malay Ruler who presides over the Conference of Rulers Meeting or to the country of origin of the Head of State who is given a national welcome,” he said.
“If nothing is suitable, the Agriculture Department will propose species from the category of rare plants in Malaysia that have an interesting ethnobotanical function,” he said.
In addition, he said the department also carried out agronomic monitoring of the trees that had been planted in the Istana Negara grounds on an ongoing basis, including aspects of fertilisation, irrigation systems as well as disease and pest control.
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He said the Department of Agriculture prepared the selection of trees to be sent to Istana Negara and prepared the planting site after getting permission from Al-Sultan Abdullah.
According to him, after the completion of the tree-planting ceremony, Al-Sultan Abdullah also planted trees that he had personally chosen.
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“This ceremony was Al-Sultan Abdullah’s brainchild and had not been done before His Majesty’s inauguration as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he said, adding that the planting of trees in conjunction with the visit of Heads of State was also a symbolic sign of Malaysia’s close bilateral relationship with the country in question.
During Al-Sultan Abdullah’s reign as Agong, among the foreign guests who completed the tree-planting ceremony with His Majesty were the President of Singapore, President of the Philippines, Sultan of Brunei, Governor General of New Zealand and Prince Albert of Monaco, said Nor Sam.
As a symbol of the end of the Al-Sultan Abdullah’s reign, Al-Sultan Abdullah together with Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah also planted rambutan trees.
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