WITH a fresh injection of RM3 million, the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry will start sending its veterinary officers back to Sarawak to assist in its fight against rabies.

Its minister, Salahuddin Ayub, speaking on an emergency motion submitted by Kuching MP Kelvin Yii on the rabies outbreak in Sarawak and claims by Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah that the federal government had abandoned the state in its fight, told Parliament today that the funds would also be used to buy vaccines and “other necessities”.

He also said that RM18 million had been approved to upgrade the veterinary lab in the Kuching veterinary clinic so that it could undertake rabies testing.

Salahuddin said the upgrade of the lab could save on logistical costs and speed up test results.

Currently, Sarawak sends all its samples to the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) in Ipoh for tests.

Uggah, who chairs the Sarawak Disaster Management and Relief Committee, told thesundaypost two days ago the federal government had abandoned the state in its fight against rabies when it put on hold the sending of vets to the state, despite rabid dogs still being detected.

Veterinary Services Department Sarawak director Adrian Susin Ambud told the paper the federal government stopped sending the vets since May due to budget cuts.

Uggah said Salahuddin was briefed on the situation in his courtesy call on Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg on July 6 but “no action had been taken” since.

Uggah said there was similarly no action taken after the matter was raised with the new director-general of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus, in his visit to the state.

The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry reportedly only pays for the vets’ airfares while Sarawak picks up the tab for their accommodation costs.

Yii, in tabling the motion, appealed to the federal government to assist and work with the Sarawak government to come up with a plan to address the rabies outbreak “as this involves lives and is beyond politics”.

Yii, a medical doctor, said the 10 lives lost so far was “10 lives too many from a disease that could have been prevented and controlled better”.

The deaths, since the outbreak was first detected in April last year included two siblings, aged 6 and 4, and the most recent case on June 1 of a 21-year-old woman from Kampung Joran Bari, Serian, who was bitten on the right arm by her pet dog while she was bathing it on April 20.

Sarawak declared the rabies epidemic on July 1 last year after 11 people were confirmed to have contracted the disease.

One survivor is confirmed brain dead.

The latest positive rabid cases among animals – two pet dogs, a pet cat and a stray dog – were detected on July 31 in Kuching and its outskirts. – August 14, 2018.