“Mari kita pergi ke zoo, bergembira di situ, makanannya sedap sehingga menjilat jari….” who else remembers this jingle??
I’m sure everyone had their own fond memory of our beloved national zoo, Zoo Negara located in Taman Zooview, Ampang . When I was smaller, I remember countless trips there such as school trips with friends, birthday parties (where we would have KFC to our hearts content!) and once, my mom’s office even held a family day there where we would visit the animals, watch the shows and play games in the zoo compound! Oh, what fun!

Even as I get older, the excitement of going to the zoo has never fade. I always feel like a little kid no matter how many times I’ve revisited the place and the animals there. I find it exhilarating when I can spot the tiger resting in between the shady trees, or hearing the lion gave out a rare roar once in a while, or watching the elephants drink with their trunks and watching the huge fishes swimming in the aquarium tank and imagining myself swimming with them (and later the thought freaked me out, because they were huge!!)

Anyway, earlier this month, the Gogopasar team made an initiative to visit our beloved Zoo Negara after hearing that they are facing a shortage of funds to cover the expenses needed to run our national zoo due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Due to the lockdown imposed because of the pandemic, the zoo is forced to close their doors from visitors and that gravely affected their funds which comes mainly from the entrance fees to the Zoo. In return, this affects the well-being of the animals as they require a lot of maintenance in terms of food and medication.

The zoo’s maintenance is not cheap as it involves the food necessities for the animals (RM350,000), salary of the workers (RM400,000), electricity bill (RM140,000) and water bill (RM40,000) which comes up to almost a million ringgit monthly. Currently, their emergency funds are depleting and can only last up to probably three months.

Mind you, these animals only eats the best grade of vegetables and fruits ya? The keepers said that if the vegetables or fruits are not fresh, the animals would reject it! So, Gogopasar with our tagline of ‘So Fresh For Less” plans to provide and deliver good quality fruits and vegetables as requested by the Zoo management for the consumption of these animals and with your help, we can make this possible.

As such, Gogopasar will launch the ‘Tabung Bantuan Zoo Negara’ as an initiative to help Zoo Negara especially in providing food necessities to the animals. It’s a donation drive solely made with the animals well-being and survival in mind. Every little bit counts, so please donate freely. With the amount collected, we will send whatever is required by the Zoo such as meat, poultry, vegetables and fruits and we hope our caring Malaysians will support our effort. Together We Can!
Our wish is to see our national zoo back to its glory state and animals live happy and healthy so that our future generation can create their own fond memories of visiting Zoo Negara just like we did.