SINGAPORE NAMES ORCHID NAJIB ROSMAH

From Frank Julian Martin

SINGAPORE, May 22 (Bernama) -- A tall and robust hybrid of the Dendrobium Ronald Imanuel and Dendrobium Jeffrey Tan orchids was named Dendrobium Najib Rosmah in conjunction with the visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor to the National Orchid Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens here Friday.

With semi-arching flowering sprays up to 60cm long bearing up to 30 flowers
each, the orchid, pollinated in March 2005, started flowering in November last
year.

Each flower is about 5.5cm across with both sepals and petals gracefully
twisted in light purplish brown with fine cream-coloured margins.

Najib and Rosmah, who are on a two-day visit to Singapore, were shown around
the orchid garden by the chief executive officer of Singapore's National Parks
Board, Ng Lang (rpt) Ng Lang.

They spent 20 minutes at the garden before leaving for the Istana for the
welcoming ceremony by the Singapore government.

In a separate event later, Rosmah visited the National University of
Singapore (NUS) High School of Mathematics and Science.

She was accompanied by Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong.

Rosmah was given a briefing on the school by principal Dr Hang Kim Hoo and
Director of the Education Programme Sun Chee Wah.

She spent about two hours at the school.

-- BERNAMA