Malaysia digs in to plant 100,000 trees in a minute
© 2000 Reuters Limited
October 16, 2000
KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday led Malaysians in attempting to plant 100,000 trees in a minute and set a new triumph for a country passionate about records.
The current world record for tree planting is held by Brazil, where 24,199 trees were put up in the city of Sao Paulo within a week from April 10, 1976, officials said.
The Malaysian record attempt covered the whole country and was part of a 1997 re-greening plan to plant three million trees by end of 2000 and 20 million by 2020. Eighty percent of the 2000 target has been met.
In the capital Kuala Lumpur, Mahathir joined thousands of people at a park outside the National Stadium in a planting session that was simultaneously carried out in 13 states.
The trees, about five feet tall (1.5 metres) and light enough to carry, were placed in spots where earth had been dug out earlier. Officials from the Malaysia Book of Records kept time.
Malaysia prides itself for holding various world records such as the tallest twin towers and the highest flag-pole. Earlier this month, a local disc-jockey stayed on air for 104 hours to set a new record in broadcasting.