The government will spend some RM220 million to set up a research centre aimed at guarding its people against the threat of bio-terrorism and new forms of deadly microbes, said Health Minister Chua Jui Meng today.

Chua said the institute would begin operations in 2005 and would be located in the so-called "BioValley", which has been established south of the capital Kuala Lumpur in line with Malaysia's aim of becoming a bio-technology hub.

"Are we ready to face a bio-terrorism attack in this country? The answer is no," he told reporters.

Chua said the government had a duty to protect its citizens against terrorists and new infectious diseases, the latest being the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) and the anthrax scare in the United States following the Sept 11 attack.

R&D on vaccines

The laboratory will be named the "National Institute of Natural Products and Vaccinology" and will also work with the private sector to conduct research and development on herbal products to produce vaccines for domestic and international consumption.

"Malaysia must have its own capability to do research. The outbreak of Nipah encephalitis (which killed 105 people in Malaysia in 1998-99) and Sars shows that we must have the capability to produce vaccines," he said.

Chua said that because of current "geo-political instability", Malaysia, which depends on imported vaccines, may face a shortage if a crisis breaks out.

"We are now totaly dependent on imports of vaccines," he said.

Chua said that the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) had expressed fears that multinational companies were no longer keen to produce vaccines because it was not profitable.

Chua said the government would source some of the best brains from within and outside the country to work in the medical institute. - AFP