In April 2003, the SEAPAVAA Executive Council (EC) (2002 – 2005) initially decided to postpone SEAPAVAA’s 8th Conference General Assembly (GA) scheduled on 19th – 27th May 2003 in Brunei and hosted by Radio TV Brunei due to the global SARS outbreak which caused (i) health risks posed by traveling to another country and by attending a mass event with other delegates from various countries, and (ii) strict government quarantine measures and travel restrictions.
In July 2003, the EC and Radio TV Brunei agreed to formally cancel both the 8th Conference and GA due to the conflict in schedule with other professional commitments, religious practices, and funding allocation for the conference.