Return of the bees: This time at KLIA, but MAHB bee-utifully relocates them

PETALING JAYA: After a swarm of bees converged on the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) on Jan 8 and caused a minor kerfuffle, another swarm made an appearance on Thursday (Jan 10) – this time at the country's main airport terminal.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) group chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin posted a picture on Twitter of the swarm of bees at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) terminal.

After having sighted them on Thursday afternoon, he and his team contacted experts to help relocate the bees.

“We will save you bees! Don't worry, the experts, @penyelamatlebah, are here.
“Good luck team, let's work together as one,” he tweeted on Thursday (Jan 10) night.

MAHB on its Twitter account said that it had called in My Bee Saviour, an initiative by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), to ensure that they were properly relocated.

“Show your support and stay tuned for the rescue mission. #saveMYbees,” MAHB tweeted as the rescue operation went into full swing as night fell.

Then early Friday (Jan 11) morning, MAHB announced that the bee rescue mission at KLIA had been a success, thanks to My Bee Saviour.

“These bee-saving specialists are definitely night-time superheroes in disguise. We will continue to care for all at the airport, including bees. Have a bee-utiful Friday!" it tweeted.

MAHB certainly has taken the bee infestation problem in its stride, turning the criticism on Jan 8 by AirAsia Group’s chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes into a PR win with this latest move.

And they have obviously learnt – to the benefit of the new swarm of bees who will be moved to a new home. The earlier swarm was not so lucky.

Of that earlier episode, MAHB on Twitter said it was a sad ending for the bees as the area was fumigated by its pest control team.- Star