Consul-General: Indonesia equally concerned by S’wak’s rabies outbreak

KUCHING: Indonesia is equally concerned by the rabies outbreak in Sarawak and is cooperating fully with the state government on efforts to control the disease.

Indonesian Consul-General in Kuching Jahar Gultom said both parties decided to work together following a meeting between representatives from the state government and Indonesia in Tebedu recently.

“The whole idea is not to point fingers at each other because there is no proof whether it (the rabies) came from there (Indonesia) or from here (Sarawak).

“But having good communication between both sides of the government in Kalimantan Barat and in Kuching is very important. I think we have got good communication between both sides now, from Kalimantan Barat to Kuching. So far the cooperation is going well. No problem,” he said before the Indonesia-Sarawak Coffee Festival launch here yesterday.

Jahar said both Kalimantan Barat and Sarawak have decided to share all actions taken and any pertinent information.

He said since May, 12 or 13 people had died due to rabies in Kalimantan Barat.

He pointed out the central government in Jakarta had allocated Kalimantan Barat around 700 million rupiah (over RM200,000) for dog vaccination in infected areas to help the province control the spread of rabies.

“Vaccination exercise has been done massively there about two months back,” he said.

The rabies outbreak in Sarawak has claimed five lives.