Awareness is still lacking
Many people along Sarawak-Kalimantan border, especially the grassroots, remain oblivious to rabies outbreak in both regions
BALAI KARANGAN: There seems to be no sign of urgency or alertness shown by those in areas along the border between Tebedu in Sarawak and Entikong in West Kalimantan as far as the rabies outbreak is concerned.
The virus has claimed four young lives in Sarawak so far since it was reported in June.
When interviewed, those manning the border posts on both sides said they had not even been informed of or briefed on the present situation.
“We have not heard anything on rabies outbreak in Sarawak and in Kalimantan,” a personnel at the Tebedu Customs, Immigration and Quarantine ( CIQ) complex told The Borneo Post yesterday.
The same response was also given by those at the neighb our ing En ti kong CIQ, which is about 30km from here.
Upon reaching this town, we met a coffeeshop owner Arfini Sumardi, 50, who admitted to hearing about rabies cases in Pontianak – the capital of West Kalimantan – but not in his town and its vicinity.
“So far, there is nothing from our government that warns us of the infectious disease – the locals are still carrying out their normal activities. Should there be any (rabies) case here, I would have known about it as I have been living here for most of my life,” he said.
According to him, there are not many stray dogs here as the majority of the villagers are Muslims but he guesses there might be more at the nearby villages where many of the residents are Dayaks, who generally keep dogs for hunting and also as pets.
“I am a frequent visitor to Serian and Kuching due to my business. I also go to Kuching for medical care. But so far, I have not seen any alert sign at both CIQs ( Tebedu and Entikong),” said Arfini, describing his town of
So far, there is nothing from our government that warns us of the infectious disease – the locals are still carrying out their normal activities. Arfini Sumardi, owner of coffeeshop in Balai Karangan, West Kalimantan
Balai Karangan as ‘a thriving place, with people of various races and religions living harmoniously with one another’.
It is learnt that this town is home to about 5,000 and has been receiving high number of travellers – thanks to its strategic location. Summary and observations On Thursday, Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg called upon the top officials from Sarawak and West Kalimantan to collaborate in finding ways to tackle the issue head on.
However, it appears that such call has yet to reach the grassroots.
Firstly, both governments must urgently give briefings to all personnel manning the CIQs at both sides of the border on the danger that they could be dealing with, especially the movements of dogs and pets that might carry the rabies virus.
Secondly, immediate collaboration between the two countries must be established.
In this regard, Sarawak and Kalimantan Barat are joining forces in preventing further outbreak of rabies through the establishment of a special committee, as announced by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas after the meeting between top officials from both countries in Kuching yesterday.
According to Uggah, the committee is specifically created to ease communications related to the rabies outbreak between both sides. Turn to page 2, Col 3
It was reported by ‘Harian Rakyat Kalbar’ recently that the virus had spread rapidly across West Kalimantan, resulting in 1,006 cases of human infection with at least 13 deaths so far.
Thirdly, information- sharing must be improved on both sides in gathering all the necessary data and statistics from the ground to prevent further loss of lives.
The death of 13 people in Kalimantan and four children in Serian should serve as a wake-up call for both sides, prompting the respective authorities to make decisive approach in tackling this deadly disease.
Efforts must be focused on how to rid both regions of rabies, as well as putting the standard operating procedures (SOP) in place, so that neither Sarawak nor Kalimantan would be taken off- guard in the future not just against rabies, but also other endemic diseases such as malaria, dengue, tuberculosis and leptospirosis.