Reclaiming Bunga Raya’s past glory as national flower
IT may be Malaysia’s national flower but the hibiscus has always been treated as a poor cousin when it comes to selecting plants for landscaping purposes as preference is usually given to bougainvilleas, roses and orchids.
Fondly regarded as the “queen of tropical flowers” by hibiscus fanciers, the humble yet alluring Bunga Raya (whose scientific name is hibiscus rosa-Sinensis) was declared the national flower in 1960.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the hibiscus was popular and featured prominently in home gardens, as well as in the gardens of government and private buildings.
Sadly, its popularity has faded over the past two decades and these days, many people regard it as an ordinary “kampung flower”.
Surianie Mohd Hanif, 42, a personal plant shopper, who helps clients select and buy the right plants for their gardens, said she had not received a single request for hibiscus from her clients.
She said people preferred plants that were popular on social media, particularly the flower-less, green foliage varieties.
“There’s a big demand for plants such as fiddle-leaf fig, monstera deliciosa, monstera adansonii, rubber plant, calathea and snake plant,” she said, adding that only a few nurseries sold hibiscus saplings due to their poor commercial value.
“Even if we do see hibiscuses in city areas, they tend to be found in the gardens of municipal councils.”
How did a flower that is held in high esteem by the nation become unpopular?
“The ‘kampung flower’ label probably came about because hibiscuses are not as widely grown in urban areas,” said Kelab Bunga Raya (Hibiscus) Malaysia founder and head Ibnu Hasan Al-Amin.
Ibnu Hasan, who has been running his club via Facebook since 2014, said the group had received lukewarm response, and as of Sept 7, its membership comprised merely 693 people.
On a brighter note, residents of a luxury residential housing area located about 53km from here have taken to adorning their gardens with potted hibiscuses bearing flowers of various colours.
The roads within Residensi Bayan in Bandar Tropicana Aman, Telok Panglima Garang, Selangor, are also lined with the national flower.
One of its residents, Chamberlain Michael Abu, 39, set the ball rolling by being the first to grow potted hibiscuses in the garden of his double-storey super-link house.
Attracted by their pink, red and yellow blooms, his neighbours started planting hibiscuses too and so did members of the housing area’s WhatsApp chat group where discussions on the plant were often held.
Chamberlain, who is a senior technical support engineer at SAS Institute Sdn Bhd, said hibiscuses would be more sought after if their pictures went viral.
“For instance, look at the lidah jinn plant (snake plant). It went viral recently and now people are planting it in their gardens,” he said.
Chamberlain, who is a Melanau from Sibu, Sarawak, said he developed an interest in hibiscuses about two years ago when he first moved to Bandar Tropicana Aman. His garden features a collection of more than 14 varieties of the plant.
Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Institute of Ethnic Studies principal fellow Professor Datuk Dr Teo Kok Seong urged citizens to plant hibiscuses in their gardens.
Apart from its unifying quality, he said, the hibiscus flower’s five petals symbolised the five principles of the Rukun Negara.
Given the uniqueness of hibiscuses, Teo hoped that the authorities, including ministries, government and private agencies, would mobilise their efforts to reinstate the glory of Bunga Raya.