“I have seen how Malaysians love to exercise, interact or relax in the existing parks or the bigger parks. We can certainly do with more,” he said at the launching of the National Landscape Day here.

Abdul Rahman said studies had indicated that any green space in a city would have a positive impact on the wellbeing of the community compared to those living without any green space.

He said the National Physical Planning Council had last year decided that there must be two hectares of green space (for landscaping and recreational purposes) for every 1,000 people by 2020 in the country.

His ministry’s National Landscape Department had come up with a pilot urban landscaping programme involving Alor Setar, Batu Pahat, Pekan, Tawau and Bintulu.

He commended the Sarawak state government for its commitment to set up the Sarawak Botanical Garden here to preserve the area’s existing nature reserve and to enhancing Kuching city’s landscaping programme.

The federal government had given an allocation of RM10 million for its implementation, he said.

– BERNAMA