Lee Yen Mun and Yee Xiang Yun The Star 30 Jun 13;
BANTING: Initiatives are being taken to prevent peatfires nationwide so that these do not contribute to the haze situation.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said peatlands were being monitored so that any peatfire could be tackled quickly.
Also, he said, check dams and tube wells were being constructed to ensure the peatlands retain water during the current dry season as a preventive measure against fires.
The six states where peatlands abound are Selangor, Pahang, Johor, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak.
According to Palanivel, the Government had spent RM11.9mil to deal with the haze problem since 2009.
Under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015), a total of RM8.9mil has been allocated for this purpose.
The Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution is expected to meet in Kuala Lumpur from July 15-17 to discuss a solution to the annual problem.
Haze is largely due to agricultural slash-and-burn activities in Sumatra during dry weather and winds carry the smoke here and to Singapore.
In Johor Baru, the Department of Environment said it hoped the Indonesian authorities could put out the fires in all 15 hotspots in that country soon, so that the haze does not return to Malaysia.
The air quality has improved tremendously nationwide over the past few days, following a period when the air quality in several areas in the peninsula were hazardous or unhealthy and hundreds of schools had to be temporarily shut.
Department director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan said the current dry season was expected to last until September and there was a possibility of the haze affecting Malaysia again.
“In the event that the fires are not totally put out in time, the south-west monsoon winds will carry the smoke over to our country,” she said.
“But we have received encoura- ging reports from the Asean Speciali-sed Meteorological Centre, so hopefully, the whole episode will be over soon.”
The country has been enjoying good to moderate air quality, according to the department’s Air Pollutant Index readings over the past few days, Halimah said.
“I am happy to report that the readings range between good and moderate, with no unhealthy air quality in any area,” she said.
She was speaking to reporters at a World Environment Day celebration here, where she also urged people not to waste food because this wastage contributes to global warming.
