The test results of all samples suspected of containing the anthrax bacteria which has sparked a nationwide scare will be known in a week's time, said Veterinary Services Department director-general Dr Mohd Nordin Mohd Nor today.

However, Nordin said seven out of the 24 samples which were sent to the Veterinary Research Institute have been confirmed to be negative.

Most of the test results will be obtained by the end of this week if there are no hiccups, he added.

Nordin was speaking to reporters after attending the official opening of the Seminar on Investment in Agriculture and Agro-based Industry by the Deputy Agriculture Minister Mohd Shariff Omar in Kuala Lumpur.

The director-general added that once the results are obtained it will be relayed to the Health Ministry, police and the Fire and Rescue Department.

Nordin said VRI's role was to conduct confirmatory tests on the samples because it has the laboratory facilities to do so.

"Our role is to determine if it (the suspected substance) is anthrax or not," he explained, adding that the matter is not directly handled by his department because it has nothing to do with livestock.

Over the past two weeks, embassies, companies and even the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters had received letters containing suspicious powdery substance.

Although the police did not rule out the possibility that these incidents could be the work of pranksters, it was reported that the health ministry and other relevant government agencies will monitor the situation closely and take every reported cases seriously.

'Sensitive issue'

In an unrelated matter, asked if the government would reveal the findings on the Nipah virus by the International Organisation of Animal Epizootic (IOE) anytime soon, Nordin replied that the matter was being worked out at the "political level" as it is a "sensitive issue".

It is believed that Bukit Pelanduk, Negeri Sembilan, is to be declared 'Nipah-free' by the IOE .

The once lucrative pig farming industry in the area collapsed after the Nipah outbreak in 1998 which also left a staggering death toll and ruined the livelihood of the pig farmers.

Asked if the government plans to revive the pig farming industry in Bukit Pelanduk, the deputy agriculture minister said his ministry is still studying the matter.

"The issue of land involves the state government. We're still in the midst of negotiation with the state government," said Sharrif.

Unlike the pig farms in other states which were allowed to resume operations, the Negeri Sembilan government has repeatedly barred pig farming in Bukit Pelanduk.

The state government wants the farmers to purchase the land in the new Pig Farming Area (PFA) in Jimah and rebuild the industry but the debt-ridden farmers say it just too costly.