DOE asks Indonesia to douse forest fires

The Air Pollutant Index reading in Putrajaya was 91 at noon yesterday. The haze reduced visibility amid high temperatures

DOE asks Indonesia to douse forest fires

Indonesia has been urged to take immediate action to prevent and put out the forest fires in central Sumatra which have brought the haze back to Malaysia.

Department of Environment (DOE) director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan sent a letter to her Indonesian counterpart on Monday to express Malaysia's concern over the sudden spike in hot spots in central Sumatra.

"The marked increase in hot spots has occurred since Sunday.

"We are now experiencing the westerly monsoon season during which winds blowing from the hot spots in central Sumatra cause a haze in the central and southern parts of the west coast of the peninsula," she said in a statement yesterday.

The westerly monsoon, which causes the hot and dry spell, is expected to end in early October.

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Haze levels improves in KL but Perak API rising

Changing winds have caused the air pollutant index (API) levels to drop in the Klang Valley as Seri Manjung in Perak bears the brunt of the smoke from Sumatra, Indonesia.

Seri Manjung now has an unhealthy API reading of 118, the highest in the country.

However, the API as at 8am recorded several spots with readings close to 100, an unhealthy reading.

Residents in Port Klang (91), Kuala Selangor (86), Shah Alam (85), Ipoh (91), Tanjung Malim (86), Kuala Terengganu (87) and Bukit Rambai (94) will have to endure the haze as dry weather conditions are expected to last a few more days.

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Haze: Parents can opt not to send children to school, says Muhyiddin

Parents have the discretion not to send their children to school if they are concerned about the haze affecting their children's health, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“Parents should refer to the relevant schools, district education offices and state education departments to find out more about the status of their children's schools, especially those in affected areas,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said all state education departments and district education offices have been instructed to monitor news on the air quality in their areas.

"I urge schools to follow the guidelines issued from time to time (by the ministry) on whether schools should be immediately close, the ceasing of all activities outside of the classroom in order to safeguard students' health.

"All state education department directors should also seek the advice of the relevant authorities regarding the closure of schools and any outdoor activities that involve students,” he said.

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Haze is back with Riau hot spots

Bukit Rambai in Malacca and Cheras in KL record unhealthy air quality

KUALA LUMPUR: A MONTH of respite is all we get. A drastic increase in the number of fires in Sumatra is bringing the haze back to the peninsula.

Already, satellite imagery has shown that smoke and ash from the hot spots in Sumatra are drifting to the west coast of the peninsula.

A statement from the Department of Environment (DoE) said the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre, using satellite data downloaded from the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, revealed there were 159 hot spots in central Sumatra on Saturday, a huge jump from the 43 recorded the previous day.

"(The winds) are carrying smoke from the hot spots in central Sumatra, in particular Riau province, to the central region of the west coast of the peninsula."


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5 nations meet on haze

A soldier trying to put out a fire in an oil palm plantation in Paman Jaya, Indonesia.


They seek end to annual problem

KUALA LUMPUR: ENVIRONMENT ministers and officials from Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand will gather here today to push for a solution to the haze problem that has plagued the region for more than a decade.

The 15th meeting of the sub-regional ministerial steering committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution, scheduled for August, was brought forward this month after haze from forest fires in Sumatra and Riau blanketed parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore recently.

The severity of the latest incident, which forced Malaysia to close down schools and declare a state of emergency in Muar and Ledang, Johor, has brought a renewed urgency for the countries involved to end the problem once and for all.

Central to these discussions will be Indonesia's willingness to ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which recognises haze resulting from land or forest fires as a regional issue to be dealt with through concerted national efforts and international cooperation.

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Jakarta moves to ratify Asean haze pact

Indonesia's government has begun preparations to ratify a regional agreement on combating the haze, Environment Minister Dr Balthasar Kambuaya said.

Balthasar told reporters at the 2013 Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution yesterday that the documents for ratification had been cleared by the Law Ministry, reported the Straits Times in Singapore.

The next step is for the State Secretariat to get an agreement from affected ministries, before taking it to Parliament. "We hope it will be completed this year," said Balthasar.

"It is important for us to ratify it, as a nation that's affected (by haze) and concerned with the well-being of others. And if there are things we need to do together, we should."

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Parliament: Lynas has submited disposal plan, says Ewon Ebin

Lynas Advance Material Plant (Lamp) has submitted to the Government its permanent disposal facility (PDF) plan on the final day of its deadline.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin told the Dewan Rakyat that the company submitted the plans on July 2 but the details of the proposal was still being reviewed by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB).

"We need to look into the details and if the proposal is not complete, we will return it back for further action," he said in reply to a supplementary question by Fuziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan) during Question.

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Strong quake strikes Banda Acheh, dozens injured

Dozens of people have been injured after a 6.2-magnitude quake jolted Aceh Province in the northern tip of Sumatra Island of Indonesia today, said local officials.

"There are dozens of people wounded here," Fauzi, head of local disaster management and mitigation agency in Benermeriah of Aceh Province, told China's Xinhua news agency via telephone from Benermeriah.

The quake struck at 14:37 p.m. Jakarta time (0737 GMT) with epicenter at 35 km southwest Benermeriah district of the province and with a depth of 10 km, Subagio, an official of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency told Xinhua by phone.

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Schools should close when API touches 200, says Palanivel

Malaysian schools should shut down when the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading touches 200, rather than the current 300 level, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said today.

The minister said he has made the suggestion to the Cabinet yesterday to order for schools to be closed when the API reading touches 200.

This was to avoid threatening the health of students and teachers as an API of 200 indicated that the air level was already unhealthy, he was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama today.

He told this to reporters after visiting the fire prevention and peat soil management project at Kampung Pulau Kempas, Mukim Tanjung 12 in Kuala Langat today.

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Met dept forecasts rain for the next few days

The Meteorological Department has forecast rain for several areas in Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Selangor in the next few days.

The department also forecast a few evening downpours in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor.

In a statement here on Thursday, it said Malaysia is still experiencing the South-West Monsoon which is expected to go on until September.

The rainfall would be due to changing wind directions between 10 and 20 kilometres an hour from west to south west.

Whereas, the interiors of the Peninsular including Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang are expected to experience thunderstorms in the evening and night.

According to the statement, Sabah could expect fair weather in the mornings while a few thunderstorms are forecast in the interior areas and Sandakan.

Fair weather has been forecast for the whole of Sarawak except for Miri and Limbang, which may experience thunderstorms in the evening. -

Lowering API trigger for school closure

The Health Ministry will on Friday push for lowering the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading that automatically triggers the closure of schools.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the cabinet would be asked to review the decision for automatic closure of schools in areas that experienced a reading of more than the hazardous level of 300.

While he did not specify the quantum, Dr Subramaniam said the trigger might be lowered if the Education Ministry agreed to it.

“We will raise this matter in the next cabinet meeting and sit down with all parties to see how we can approach this matter,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

It was reported that schools in areas that breached the 300 API mark would be automatically closed, while school authorities could also decide to do this if the readings were in the “very unhealthy” range of between 250 and 300.

Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said that parents could decide not to send their children to school if the reading was below 250, provided they informed the school authorities.

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Palanivel off to Jakarta to “put out the fires”

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel who has been flayed online for his belated response to the haze crisis will be off to Jakarta tomorrow where his priority is to "put out the fires".

He said Malaysia wants an immediate solution to the crisis and his main task is to help the Indonesian government extinguish the blaze around Riau in central Sumatra.

"We are prepared to assist Indonesia by providing manpower and equipment. We can help in putting out the blaze and to bring the rain through cloud seeding," he told reporters at Wisma Sumber Asli in Putrajaya this evening.

"The haze problem is a national issue which has affected tourism, business and the economy. When I visited Muar over the weekend the hospital was packed with people suffering from haze-related illnesses."

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HAZE UPDATE: Brighter skies in Penang, API at 60

Penangites woke up to bright skies after the Air Pollution Index (API) numbers were halved from yesterday's unhealthy levels, after bouts of overnight rain.

Checks with the Meteorological Department website showed the API on the island is at 60, while mainland Prai recorded a 57, as at 9am.

Yesterday, Penang recorded unhealthy air quality levels ranging from 121 to 130, with visibility reduced at to almost a kilometre.

Activities in Penang are back to normal with the improved visibility and API halved to 60 as at 9am.



Its business as usual in Penang as the haze situation improves and the visibility returns to normal. Penang recorded a moderate Air Pollutant Index reading of 62 as at early this morning.

Haze: Selangor MB proposes Indonesian farmers carry out burning during rainy season

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has proposed that Indonesian farmers carry out their burning during the rainy season.

Calling it a short-term compromise, Khalid said this would prevent the air from becoming overly polluted.

"Of course it would be ideal to have zero burning. But the poorer farmers have to do this (burn) to fertilise the land.

“They don't have money to buy fertiliser, unless we want to give it to them," he told reporters after giving out prizes at the Selangor Invitational Golf Tournament on Tuesday.

Khalid said it was not possible to stop the culture of a community over a short period of time.

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'Bring the culprits to book' those responsible for haze in Indonesia

An Indonesian villager standing on an oil well as fire burns an oil palm plantation in the haze-hit Bangko Pusako district in Rokan Hilir, Riau province


Indonesia told to enforce laws on Malaysian firms based there if they are found guilty of open burning

PUTRAJAYA: THE ongoing haze has prompted Malaysia and Singapore to push for the 15th sub-regional ministerial steering committee meeting on transboundary haze pollution to be brought forward from Aug 20 to next week.

The Malaysian government has also called on Indonesia to enforce laws on Malaysian companies based there if they were found guilty of open burning.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said Malaysia could not penalise the companies as the offence was committed in another country.

However, he said the government supported Indonesia's move to investigate and prosecute them.

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Today Pic - Haze , Satellite show Haze, Graphic API and Indonesia Fire source

The view of Putra Perdana on a hazy night.



The scene in Port Klang this morning when the pollution index was 319. Earlier in the morning it was 487.


The latest API status from the DOE shows Port Klang with the highest reading of 484


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Haze: Birds wake later, dogs stay indoors

The birds are waking up much later to forage for food the past few days. The cats and dogs are also not too keen on going out.

It seems that humans are not the only ones affected by the haze.

Over the last week, consultant avian, exotic, wildlife and zoo veterinarian Dr S. Vellayan observed that the birds, especially the free-flying painted stock, are getting up about an hour later than usual to look for food.

“This could indicate interference in their vision due to the haze,” said Dr Vellayan who lives next to Zoo Negara in Ampang.

Dr Vellayan, who has worked in the national zoo for 28 years, added that birds had a good filtration system for their nostrils.

Kucing Terbiar Anjing Jalanan (KTAJ) volunteer Rina Zahid noticed that fewer birds were eating food that she puts out for them.

Bukit Beruntong, Selangor, where she lives has been badly hit by the haze in the last three days.

“I hear less birds chirping in the morning,” she lamented.

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Yudhoyono apologises to Malaysia and Singapore on haze

Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yud hoyono has apologised to Malaysia and Singapore over the haze emanating from forest and peatland fires in Sumatra, which has affected air quality in the two countries.

"As the president, I apologise for what has happened and hope for understanding from our friends in Singapore and Malaysia," he told a news conference at the president's office here Monday evening.

"For sure, what has taken place is not on purpose," he said.

Yudhoyono said at the moment, the areas affected by fires in Jambi, Bengkulu, and Riau had been declared as districts under disaster emergency and the central government had deployed maximum manpower to fight the calamity.

He said Indonesia was fully responsible for overcoming the problem and was confident that this would be done soon.

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Haze: DOE offers hourly API readings

The Air Pollutant Index (API) readings will now be updated on an hourly basis.

The Department of Environment (DOE) director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan said the readings will be available at the Natural Resources and Environment website and will be made available on the DOE portal soon.

"We are giving it out every hour due to the public's request," she said.

The updates can be viewed at DOE department


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Haze: Schools close in Manjung district as air quality turns hazardous

Schools in the Manjung district in Perak have closed due to the worsening air quality.

A SMJK Nan Hwa teacher, who declined to named, said schools in the district have been instructed by the district Education Department to close until further notice. .

"All schools will also be closed tomorrow (Wednesday)," she said.

The Air Pollutant Index (API) reading at 9am at Seri Manjung was 322, well into the hazardous zone.

Air quality in Perak started deteriorating in Perak as the haze drifted north.

Perak Education, Science, Environment and Green Technology Committee chairman Dr Muhammad Amin Zakaria said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir was considering closing public premises.

"Normally, if the API exceeds 300, we will have to close public premises.

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