Welcome to LASAM, it is so wonderful to have you join us!
First of all, I would to thank all LASAM members who attended and actively participated in our recent LASAM SCIENTIFIC SEMINAR and 28th Annual General Meeting. It is my utmost privilege and honour to serve you as LASAM President. You may rest assured that I shall commit myself, my time and my thoughts to this new responsibility. Also, a big congratulations to all the newly elected executive committee members!
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 29th year since the establishment of Laboratory Animal Science Association of Malaysia (LASAM). We had been actively involved in drafting the government policy paper related to the ethics and welfare of laboratory animals (Animal Welfare Act 2015) and in later years successfully achieved another milestone of drafting the Malaysian Code of Practice for The Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (MYCODE) in 2019. MYCODE covers the standards and guidelines on animal welfare. It serves as a reference to the licensing and enforcement authorities for all types of laboratory animal work; including research, testing and teaching activities. Just think about all that brought us here, too great to recall, all the efforts, all the insights, all of it. Thank you so much to our beloved members.
LASAM’s main goal is to promote humane care and use of laboratory animals, by providing guidance through scientific seminars, conferences, and laboratory animal handling workshops. As more and more new species of laboratory animals are being used in research, these present many new challenges and innovative methodologies for researchers. By gathering all the experts nationwide and abroad, LASAM pledges to effectively address pertinent issues in laboratory animal science.
Thank you.
Capt Dr. John Shia Kwong Siew, DVM, PhD
President