Lucky farmer finds Rafflesia flower in his farm

> Lucky farmer finds Rafflesia flower in his farm
Farmer Md Bakri Bahri, 43, was elated when he discovered a Rafflesia flower in his farm, located within the Royal Belum State Park area in Perak, as he was clearing up the bush last week. His discovery has since been given the name Rafflesia Batu Kurau, and is expected to attract visitors. Batu Kurau assemblyman Datuk Dr Muhammad Amin Zakaria had instructed the Perak State Forestry Department to monitor its growth.

> More man-made reefs to boost ecotourism
The Marine Park Department will be spending RM250,000 to sink five ships as artificial reefs this year to preserve marine parks in Terengganu, Kedah and Johor. Its deputy director-general Kamaruddin Ibrahim said the move was a joint effort with the Tourism Ministry to help boost ecotourism. A vessel of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), which was purposely sunk as man-made artificial reef in Tioman Island in 2012, had successfully attracted 7,200 tourists last year. There are a total of 42 marine parks in Malaysia, of which 13 of them are located in Terengganu, Pahang (9), Johor (13), Kedah (4) and Labuan (3).