25 February 2019 (Monday) – Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and Department of Biosafety (JBK) have co-organised a Biosafety Training Workshop on 21 February at FRIM, Kepong.

Abd Latif (left) and Norsham speaking at the ceremony.	From left: George, Norsham, Abd Latif and Marzalina during the MOU documents exchange.

The workshop, organised by FRIM and JBK Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), was officiated by FRIM Director General (DG) Dato’ Dr Abd Latif Mohmod. A total of 30 FRIM staff from the Forestry Biotechnology, Natural Products, Forest Products and Forest Biodiversity divisions attended the workshop.

Also present at the opening ceremony were JBK DG Norsham Abdul Latip, FRIM Forestry Biotechnology Director Dato’ Dr Marzalina Mansor who is also FRIM IBC Chairman and JBK Monitoring and Enforcement Section Director George Wise Ajom.

The workshop aimed at providing an overview on the Biosafety Act 2007 which came into force in 2010. The Act regulates the release, importation, exportation and contained use of living modified Organisms (LMO) as well as release of products of such organisms, with the objectives of protecting human, plant and animal health, the environment and biological diversity.

The topics presented at the workshop were:

• Introduction to the Biosafety Act 2007 (Act 678) and Biosafety (Approval and Notification) Regulations 2010 by Dr Anita Anthonysamy, JBK;
• Introduction to IBC guidelines (Azareena Yahya, JBK);
• Introduction to IBC FRIM (Marzalina); and
• Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005 (Ili Daliela Md Razali, Department of Environment).

Workshop participants and organisers posing for a group photograph with Abd Latif (seated, middle).	From left: Anita, Azareena, Marzalina and Ili Daliela presenting their respective topics.

In conjunction with the workshop, the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between FRIM and JBK was held. This MOU documents the cooperation between the two parties to conduct LMO detection test on vegetables.