Malaysia: Put out forest fires in Sumatra, KL tells Jakarta

ZAFIRA ANWAR AND NURASYIKIN ZULKIFLI New Straits Times 26 Jun 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIA has urged Indonesia to immediately extinguish forest fires in Central Sumatra that are worsening the haze situation in the country.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said Indonesia needed to not only stop the forest fires from spreading but also prevent them.

He said the call was extended to Indonesia in a letter by Department of Environment director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan to her Indonesian counterpart.

“The letter expresses Malaysia’s concern with the increase of hot spots which cause haze in the peninsula since Sunday,” he said yesterday.

Palanivel said the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) in Singapore had reported that the number of hot spots in Sumatra rose to 143 yesterday from 129 on Monday.

Twently-five hot spots have been identified in Pahang, Johor (four), Sarawak (three) and one each in Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Selangor, Perak and Penang.

“The hot spots will be investigated and the relevant authorities will take action.”

As of 4pm yesterday, the air pollution index (API) for all states nationwide recorded moderate or good levels.

The situation showed an improvement from the readings four hours earlier, when unhealthy API levels were recorded in Port Klang (102), Shah Alam (103), Cheras (102) and Putrajaya (107).

Palanivel said the southwest monsoon played a major role in bringing the haze to Malaysia and this was expected to continue until September.

“Since February, the ministry had taken various measures to overcome this issue, including banning open burning to offset the impact compounded by the southwest monsoon and El Nino.”

Meteorological Department is corporate and commercial director Maznorizan Mohamad said the increase in the API levels was because of the current dry and hot weather.

“The dry spell has triggered forest fires that contribute to the formation of smoke and haze.”

She said the situation was expected to improve in September during the inter-monsoon phase.

Meanwhile, clinics and hospitals have been advised to have sufficient medications and medical supplies as the number of patients was expected to increase.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam advised the public to limit their outdoor activities, drink plenty of water, maintain good hygiene and use masks when going outdoors.

He said according to the National Haze Action Plan 2014, schools could be shut down if the API indicated an unhealthy level of 200 for more than 48 hours.

Put out Sumatra fires, Indonesia told
rahimy rahim AND hemananthani sivanandam The Star 26 Jun 14;

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has called upon Indonesia to immediately extinguish and prevent further land and forest fires in Central Sumatra that are responsible for the transboundary haze since Sunday, says Environment and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel.

In a statement yesterday, he said the country expressed its concern over the increase in the number of hotspots in Indonesia, in a letter written by the Department of Environment (DOE) director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan to her Indonesian counterpart.

“The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre reported that 143 hotspots were detected by the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s satellites over Sumatra on Tuesday, compared with 129 hotspots a day earlier,” said Palanivel.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, via his official Twitter account, urged Malaysians to stay hydrated, remain indoors, as well as to avoid strenuous outdoor activities.

Meanwhile, 25 local hotspots have been identified in Pahang (12), Johor (four), Sarawak (three) and one each in Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Selangor and Penang.

Earlier yesterday, several areas in Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index readings, with Banting, Kuala Selangor, Port Klang, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam reaching unhealthy levels in the morning.

Similar readings were recorded for Batu Muda and Cheras in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, as well as Nilai in Negri Sembilan.

As of 8am, Putrajaya, Banting and Port Klang had API readings of 113, 109 and 108 respectively, but the areas recorded good and moderate readings after 1pm.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said government clinics and hospitals were prepared to ensure patients got the best treatment.

He said the ministry, through the state health departments, were also monitoring haze-related illnesses such as upper respiratory tract infections and asthma at selected clinics nationwide.

Subramaniam said, based on the National Haze Action Plan, schools in areas with API readings above 200 for 48 hours can close, while schools were also advised to stop outdoor activities if the API went above 150.

An API reading between 0 and 50 is considered good; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and anything above that, hazardous.

In Jakarta, Indonesia’s disaster agency warned that haze could return to Singapore and Malaysia after a huge jump in forest fires in Riau at the centre of a smog crisis last year, AFP reported.

Fires in Riau on western Sumatra island caused the worst outbreak of haze in Southeast Asia for more than a decade in June last year, affecting daily life for millions and sparking a diplomatic row.

June is the start of the forest fire season ­­— when slash-and-burn techniques are used to clear land quickly and cheaply, often for palm oil plantations — and disaster officials said the number of blazes in Riau was rising quickly.

Haze: Malaysia calls for immediate action by Indonesia
The Star 25 Jun 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has called for immediate action by Indonesia to extinguish and prevent further land and forest fires in Central Sumatra, Indonesia, that were responsible for the cross border haze.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said the call was expressed to Indonesia in a letter written by Environment director general Datuk Halimah Hassan to her counterpart at the Environment Ministry in Indonesia.

"The letter was to express Malaysia's concern about the increase in number of hotspots causing the haze in the peninsula since June 22," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the Singapore-based Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) had reported that the hotspots in Sumatra, Indonesia rose to 143 yesterday from 129 on Monday.

Aside from that, 25 local hotspots have been identified, in Pahang (12), Johor (4), Sarawak (3), Kedah (1), Kelantan (1), Melaka (1), Selangor (1), Perak (1) and Penang (1).

"The hotspots will be investigated, and appropriate action will be taken by the relevant authorities," he said.

As at 9 am today, unhealthy air pollution index (API) readings were recorded in Putrajaya (112), Banting (108), Port Klang (107), Shah Alam (106), Cheras (106), Nilai (104), Petaling Jaya (103) and Batu Muda (103).

Palanivel said the API deterioration was influenced by the cross border haze fanned by the southwest monsoon and is expected to persist until September.

According to him, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite images issued by the ASMC yesterday showed moderate haze drifting from burning areas in Riau, Central Sumatra towards the central region and southwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Palanivel said the ministry through the environment department had taken various measures including banning of open burning since February to offset the impact compounded by the southwest monsoon and El Nino. - Bernama