Loh Foon Fong The Star 22 Oct 10;
PETALING JAYA: The air quality in areas around Pasir Gudang, Larkin and Kota Tinggi in Johor is still at unhealthy levels while Muar and Malacca recorded an improvement.
Department of Environment director-general Datuk Rosnani Ibarahim said that the Air Pollutant Index (API) in those unhealthy areas were above 100.
She said the situation in Malacca had improved to moderate level similar to the situation in Muar.
“Our Ministry (Natural Resources and the Environment) has written to the Environment Ministry in Indonesia to express our concern and has urged them to take the necessary action,” she told The Star Friday.
The AFP reported Friday that Indonesia had sent hundreds of fire fighters to Sumatra island to battle blazes that have enveloped Singapore and parts of Malaysia in a choking haze.
Many of the fires across Sumatra had been lit by small landholders to clear trees in peatland areas in order to grow oil palm or other crops, it said.
“We have been making efforts to contain the fires. It’s very difficult in the peatland areas,” Forestry Minister Zulkilfi Hasan told reporters.
On whether the Ministry could compel the Government there to stop smallholders’ burning practices, once and for all, since Malaysia and neighbouring countries have been suffering from the haze problem every year, Rosnani said the Malaysian Government could not compel another country to do that but could only request.
“However, we must also realise that Indonesia is big country and it is not easy to monitor,” she said.
Rosnani said the haze problem had not worsened but had improved slightly through the years.
It was not as bad as the 1997 haze that sharply reduced visibility, she said.
Hospitals on ‘haze standby’
The Star 23 Oct 10;
YONG PENG: Government hospitals and clinics have been told to be on standby to treat more people with haze related-illnesses if the air quality remains poor.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the haze, which appeared in the past few days, had caused some people especially in Muar to have cough, eye irritation, asthma and respiratory illnesses.
“We have been told that the dry spell is expected to continue until the end of the month. So, we may have to be ready to treat more people especially those seeking outpatient treatment,” he told reporters after attending a ground-breaking ceremony for a RM33mil health clinic here yesterday.
Liow said cloud seeding would have to be carried out if the dry spell persisted.
“At the moment, the areas where the Air Pollutant Index (API) was above 100 in Johor yesterday included Larkin, Pasir Gudang and Kota Tinggi,” he said, urging the public to take precautionary measures including wearing masks, washing their hands often, drinking more water and also bathing regularly.
“We are also distributing posters and leaflets to the public about the precautionary measures,” he said, adding that the haze was due to about 300 hotspots in Indonesia.
“We have offered our assistance. We are working with the Asean secretariat to resolve the problem.”
In Petaling Jaya, Department of Environment director-general Datuk Rosnani Ibarahim said the situation in Malacca had improved to moderate level, similar to the condition in Muar.
She said the haze problem had slightly improved through the years.
“It has not been as bad as the one in 1997 when visibility was so poor,” she told The Star yesterday.
She also said the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry had written to its counterpart in Indonesia to express concern over the matter.
“However, we must also realise that Indonesia is a big country and it is not easy to monitor,” she said.
Help prevent haze, Jakarta told
Sim Bak Heng and Desmond Davidson New Straits Times 22 Oct 10;
JOHOR BARU: The deteriorating air quality in southern Johor caused by indiscriminate slash and burn farming practice in Indonesia has irked politicians and the business community here and they want the Indonesian authorities to address the issue urgently.
The air quality here, in Pasir Gudang and Kota Tinggi breached unhealthy levels yesterday, with the air pollutant index (API) at 109, 113 and 107 respectively.
Pasir Gudang, the largest industrial zone in the south, had the highest API reading in the country on Thursday at 91
API reading in other parts of the country was either good or moderate yesterday.
BN Johor Baru youth division chairman Khalid Mohamad criticised the Indonesian authorities for failing to control the forest burning, which brought a huge mass of haze to the peninsula annually.
"This affects our health and economy as our people are getting sick and tourists cancel their holiday plans to come here.
"The most annoying thing is that the haze comes every year without fail. Enough is enough, we will submit a memorandum to the Indonesian consulate here next week," he said.
The annual haze usually occurs in either May, June or July, but it came as late as mid-October this year.
What brings the haze across the Straits of Malacca is the on-going south-west monsoon.
MCA Johor Baru division chairman Kua Song Tuck hoped the Indonesian authorities would understand that they were the main cause of the haze problem faced by Malaysians now.
"The slash and burn farming practice has become an unfailing norm every year because of the lack of preventive measures and enforcement carried out by the Indonesian authorities.
"I hope Indonesia will be sincere in addressing the problem quickly," he said.
Johor Tourist Guides Association chairman Jimmy Leong said the tourism sector was badly hit during the haze period every year, with tour cancellations or postponements of up to 50 per cent.
"The situation now is not alarming yet. But if the haze worsens, all tourism-related sectors will be badly affected as in the past," he said.
Johor Indian Businessmen Association chairman P. Sivakumar said Indian traders who operate stalls selling festive goods in conjunction with the coming Deepavali were severely affected as very few were willing to go out to shop, even at night.
Pasir Gudang MP Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin said he was monitoring the situation in his constituency with the Department of Environment daily.
He advised the people in his constituency to reduce all outdoor activities especially those with respiratory and heart problems.
"While the situation in the next few days could be unpredictable, what the people could do is to put on face masks for protection," he said.
In Kuching, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah said he and his officers were surprised at the haze which hit parts of Johor this week.
He said they were bracing for "heavier rain than usual" because that was the forecast for the coming season.
"Based on reports from the Meteorological Department and the ministerial steering committee on trans-boundary haze, heavier rain than usual was to be expected from this month until early next year.
"(So) we were preparing for a more wet season," he told reporters when inspecting a flood mitigation project at Sungai Lajim in Kampung Bandarshah that had fallen behind schedule.
However, Uggah does not believe the haze would get any worse.
He said cloud seeding operations in hard-hit areas of Johor had already been conducted and the latest report showed the number of hot spots in Sumatra had reduced.
"We hope the rain will come soon. If the situation in Sumatera is not very serious, then other states in the peninsula will not be affected."
Smuggling activities at sea thwarted by poor visibility
The Star 23 Oct 10;
JOHOR BARU: The current haze is expected to make it nearly impossible for smugglers to criss-cross the Malacca Straits if last year’s condition is an indication.
Smugglers find it hard to enter Malaysian waters as the visibility at sea is worse compared to that on land.
The haze poses more danger at sea as there are no structures or lights to aid navigation.
Marine Police Region 2 chief Asst Comm Mohd Khamsani Abdul Rahman said that although there were no smuggling of goods or illegal immigrants during last year’s haze, his personnel were not taking any chances.
“We will still be beefing up patrols,” he said.
ACP Mohd Khamsani said marine police would focus more on several hotspots located along Johor’s south east area of Kota Tinggi where most smuggling cases were reported.
“So far, we have yet to receive any reports on smuggling activities.”
ACP Mohd Khamsani said patrol boats were equipped with modern navigation systems to help officers patrol the sea.
“Our men have been told to take necessary precautions including putting on face masks when they are out there.
Anyone with information on smuggling activities has been urged to contact the authorities at 07-238 1953.
Fishermen stranded in thick haze rescued
New Straits Times 20 Oct 10;
TWELVE fishermen in five boats were rescued five nautical miles off the Sungai Balang coast in Muar on Tuesday.
They were stranded for more than two hours because of thick haze. Visibility was down to 300m.
Sungai Balang Fishermen's Search and Rescue committee chairman Jais Adnan said he received a distress call at 8am and immediately sent out three boats with eight fishermen to look for them.
"The rescue boats used powerful spotlights to cut through the haze, bring the stranded boats together and lead them back to the village," Jais added.
Since the hazy conditions set in last Saturday, he said the rescue team went to the aid of 36 fishermen in 15 boats.
He said traditional fishermen used mountains, the position of the sun and lighthouses to guide them home.
So, they can easily lose their way in hazy conditions.
Fisherman Omar Atan, who led one of the rescue boats, said hazy conditions were a grave danger to fishermen working in the busy Straits of Malacca.
He said fishermen could hear the honking of passing vessels but could not see the vessels until they came very close to their boats.
"I urge fishermen to light up their boats during the day to avoid mishaps."
Muar-Batu Pahat Fishermen's Association vice-president Tan Yong Hwee said fishermen and their boats were put on standby so that they could take part in rescue operation if they did not go out to sea. -- By Chong Chee Seong
Muar schools reopen as air quality improves
Hazlin Hassan, Straits Times 23 Oct 10;
KUALA LUMPUR: Schools in Muar reopened yesterday as the air quality improved over the town and the haze shifted to other parts of Johor Baru.
Muar's air pollutant index (API) dropped to a moderate 69 at 5pm, a huge decline from the hazardous 437 recorded on Wednesday.
The air quality in Malacca, the town closest to Muar which was also hit by the haze on previous days, improved as well, with the API dropping from 111 on Wednesday to 54.
But readings taken in the coastal area of Pasir Gudang and the town of Larkin in Johor Baru yesterday climbed to unhealthy levels of 110, while Kota Tinggi recorded 98.
An API of over 301 is considered hazardous. A 0 to 50 reading is healthy; 51 to 100 moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; and 201 to 300, very unhealthy.
Muar-Batu Pahat Fishermen's Association vice-president Tan Yong Hwee said fishermen have not been able to go out to sea this week.
'The source of the haze has to be tackled quickly. Fishermen have lost their source of income,' he said.
While the haze has caused some unhappiness among those living in the affected towns and cities, a Muar resident who wanted to be known only as Ms Julia, said that not many realised that this year's haze had reached hazardous levels, as they were used to the annual haze.
'Muar is affected every year, but this is the worst I have experienced in 10 years,' she told The Straits Times. 'Some residents are angry because it is a yearly thing, but at the same time it has become a norm for us.'
Creative writer Amirul Patrick, 27, who works in Muar, noted: 'Malaysians are very patient. Indonesians are causing a lot of trouble for us and yet we have not taken to protesting on the streets.'
The Malaysian government has written to Indonesian ministers and officials expressing concern over the haze and also to offer its help.
But Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said that Kuala Lumpur will not issue a protest note to Jakarta. 'We hope Indonesia will take immediate action before the haze gets worse,' he said.
Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Malaysia was in touch with the Asean Secretariat, which was helping to establish a response.
'We are getting the Asean Secretariat to coordinate a regional response to tackle the haze situation, which could worsen if the forest fires are not put out,' he told the French news agency, AFP.
