Programme Day 3

Day 3 1 October 2026 (Thursday)
Time
Programme
08:00 – 08:45

Registration & Morning Breakfast

08:45 – 08:55

Energiser

08:55 – 09:00

CONFERENCE WELCOME

Speaker Dr. Nicholas Jenek (Malaysia) | Deputy Director (Veterinary Health and Compliance), Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak
09:00 – 09:30

PLENARY 9

SARAWAK ENDORSED DOG-MEDIATED RABIES CONTROL PROGRAMME

Speaker Ts. George anak Bobby (Malaysia) | Senior Research Officer, Sarawak Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak
09:30 – 10:00

PLENARY 10

SAVING LIVES THROUGH TIMELY MEDICAL TREATMENT

Speaker Dr. Chua Hock Hin (Malaysia) | Head of Infectious Disease Unit, Sarawak General Hospital.
10:00 – 10:30

PLENARY 11

MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF RABIES IN SARAWAK

Speaker Professor Dr. David Perera (Malaysia) | Director, Institute of Health & Community Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
10:30 – 11:00

Morning Tea Break

11:00 – 11:30

PLENARY 12

RABIES VIRUS SEQUENCING

Speaker Ms. Esther Thou Mun Huieh (Malaysia) | Assistant Research Officer, Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (SIDC)
11:30 – 12:30

FORUM 4

INTEGRATED RABIES VACCINATION PROGRAMME (ORAL RABIES VACCINE)

Parenteral vaccination alone rarely reaches the free-roaming and hard-to-handle dogs that keep rabies circulating. Oral rabies vaccine (ORV) is meant to close that gap. This forum takes the Kuching experience as its starting point and asks what an integrated vaccination programme should look like going forward. The aim is a clear-eyed assessment of where ORV fits, what it costs, and what evidence is still needed.

Panellists 1. YBhg. Datin Sri Dona Drury Wee (Malaysia) | Sarawak Society for The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) – Oral Rabies Vaccine (ORV) & Mass Vaccination in Kuching - Planning and Implementation
2. Dr. Ad Vos (The Kingdom of Netherlands) | VPH Expert | Ceva Santé Animale – Successes and Challenges of Oral Rabies Vaccine (ORV) Projects in Asia
3. Dr. Sim Song-Lin (Malaysia) | Veterinary Officer (Head of Serian Divisional Office), Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak
Moderator Dr. Nicholas Jenek (Malaysia) | Deputy Director (Veterinary Health and Compliance), Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak
12:30 – 13:25

Conference Lunch

13:15 – 13:30

Energiser : Boomtime by Asia Ability

13:30 – 14:30

FORUM 5

COMMUNITY ACTION AND SURVEILLANCE THROUGH LOCAL LEADERSHIP

Rabies elimination is decided in neighbourhoods, kampungs and council areas, not in conference halls. This forum puts local government leaders in the chair to talk about what community-level action really involves: The conversation covers how councils mobilise residents for vaccination drives, how bite cases and suspect animals get reported and followed up, and where local authorities need more support from state agencies and partners. A practical session for anyone who has to turn policy into action on the ground.

Panellists 1. Cr. Abang Ismawi bin Abang Ali (Malaysia) | Chairman, Samarahan Municipal Council
2. Dr. Sarah Tay Lee Huay (Malaysia) | Managing Director & Senior Veterinary Surgeon, Anypets Veterinary Clinic, Kuching and Vet Kamek Veterinary Clinic, Serian
3. Dr. Johnny Pangkas (Malaysia)| Kuching Division Health Officer / Counsultant Public Health Medicine Specialist, Kuching Division Health Office
Moderator The Honourable Dr. Simon Sinang anak Bada (Malaysia) | ADUN N21 Tebedu, Council Members for Malaysian Veterinary Council
14:30 – 15:30

FORUM 6

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

The closing forum pulls three days of keynotes, plenaries, papers and discussion into a set of recommendations the region can act on. Panellists will each reflect on what they have heard and what should change as a result: for Sarawak's Rabies-Free 2030 goal, for cross-border collaboration in Borneo, and for the wider Asian region. The session ends with the conference's consolidated recommendations to delegates, governments and partners.

Panellists 1. YBhg. Datin Sri Dona Drury Wee (Malaysia) | Sarawak Society for The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA)
2. Dr. Rachel Tidman (France) | Global Rabies Coordinator, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)
3. Dr. Mary Elizabeth G. Miranda (The Philippines) | Chief Executive Officer, Field Epidemiology Training Foundation and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), Philippines
4. Dr. Reeta S. Mani (India) | Professor and Head of Neurovirology and WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Rabies, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India
5. Dr. Andrea Leigh Britton (Australia) | One Health Consultant & Director, Ultimate Efficacy Consulting, Pacific Regional Infectious Diseases Association (PRIDA) One Health, RIA and RIB 2026 Scientific Chairperson
Moderator Ms. Mona Abdul Manap (Malaysia) | Conference Convenor, RIA and RIB 2026 and Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, Place Borneo Sdn Bhd
15:30 – 16:00

CLOSING CEREMONY

CLOSING REMARKS BY ORGANISING CHAIRPERSON

Speaker YBhg. Datu Dr. Adrian Susin Ambud (Malaysia) | Organising Chairperson Rabies in Asia (RIA) and Rabies in Borneo (RIB) 2026 and Director Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak

Rabies in Asia (RIA) 2027 Handover to next Host Country - Thailand

Best Poster Presentation Award

Best Oral Presentation Award

PMVet - Malaysia Book of Records | Most Rabies Vaccination Administered to Dogs and Cats in a Day

Rabies in Asia (RIA) & Rabies in Borneo (RIB) 2026 LUCKY DRAW

 

Tea Break

End of Rabies in Asia (RIA) & Rabies in Borneo (RIB) 2026