Malaysia: Johor and Malacca schools closed

The Star 29 Sep 15;

PETALING JAYA: The Education Ministry has ordered the closure of all schools in Johor and Malacca today due to the haze.

Both states recorded unhealthy levels in the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 4pm yesterday.

The closure will involve 1,178 schools and 618,326 students in Johor, and 314 schools and 156,635 students in Malacca.

Schools in other parts of the country that were closed yesterday will open as usual today.

The ministry said API readings as of noon yesterday came down in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Tanjung Malim (Perak), as well as Sri Aman, Kuching, Betong and Samarahan in Sarawak.

“Therefore, schools in the area will be open as usual (on Tuesday). The ministry would also like to remind the state education departments as well as the district education offices nationwide to continue monitoring the API readings.

Air quality with API readings of 0-50 is categorised as good, 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy) and 301 and above (hazardous).

In Johor Baru, state Entrepreneur Development, Cooperative, Educa­tion and Information Com­mittee chairman Md Jais Sarday said students having respiratory problems should get a report from a clinic or hospital if they were unfit to attend classes.

Such reports were necessary for students who could not come to school for long periods of time due to respiratory illness, he said.

Meanwhile, a Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd spokesman said two flights enroute to Kuching and Kuantan respectively were diverted back to the Kuala Lumpur Inter­national Airport.

The Kuantan flight was rescheduled and departed at 2.58pm.

The spokesman said a few flights from KLIA2 to Pontianak, Pekan Baru and Palembang were cancelled due to the haze.

AirAsia Bhd said several flights were disrupted due to visibility below the minimum level as of 4.30pm yesterday.

“Affected passengers were notified and attended to accordingly at the airport. AirAsia will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep our passengers informed with the latest information,” it said.

A Firefly Airlines spokesman said only one flight from Subang to Pekan Baru was cancelled while one flight to Kerteh was delayed for 30 minutes.

Johor to set up four more API measurement stations
MOHD FARHAAN SHAH The Star 28 Sep 15;

JOHOR BARU: Four more Air Pollutant Index (API) stations will be set up at several locations in the state by next year.

"The districts that do not have the API stations have to depend on mobile IPU readings, which are not that accurate," said State Health and Environment exco Datuk Ayub Rahmat, adding that Johor currently has four such stations.

"By April next year, we will have four more stations that would give us better readings when there is a haze," he said.

Ayub said this when met after officiating the closing ceremony of "No Obesity" program held at SK Kempas here.

Haze-hit schools to open as usual tomorrow
HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM The Star 28 Sep 15;

PETALING JAYA: Schools in several states that were closed due to the haze are to open as usual tomorrow (Tuesday.)

The Education Ministry said the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading as of noon Monday showed improvement for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Tanjung Malim (Perak), as well as Sri Aman, Kuching, Betong and Samarahan in Sarawak.

“Therefore, schools in these areas will be open as usual on Tuesday. The ministry would also like to remind the state education departments as well as the district education offices nationwide to continue monitoring the API readings.

“If the API readings reach unhealthy levels (101-200) or very unhealthy (201-300), then state education departments and the district education offices can refer to the circular dated August 7, 2013,” the ministry said in a statement.

Runway at Kuching International Airport reopens
SHARON LING The Star 28 Sep 15;

KUCHING: Hazy conditions and low visibility caused the Kuching International Airport (KIA) to be temporarily closed for about two hours Monday morning.

Senior airport manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said the runway was closed at 7am due to the thick haze and reopened for flight operations at 9.10am.

"As at 9am, there are 25 flights cancelled, comprising 12 departures and 13 arrivals. We expect some delays in flight movement and will update from time to time," he said.

Earlier posts on social media pages of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) had said that the airport runway was declared closed by the Department of Civil Aviation and airport authorities as visibility was only 350m.

It was later updated saying that while the airport was now reopened, all passengers arriving and departing from KIA should check with the respective airlines on their flight schedules as some flights could be delayed.

At 9am, the Air Pollutant Index (API) was 117 in Kuching and 129 in Samarahan.

Seven other areas in Sarawak recorded moderate readings while Kapit had good air quality of 50.


26 flights at Kuching Int'l Airport cancelled, 8 flights delayed
GOH PEI PEI New Straits Times 28 Sep 15;

KUCHING: A total of 26 flights departing and arriving at the Kuching International Airport (KIA) had been cancelled as the runway was closed for two hours until 9am today.

KIA Senior Manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said the closure had affected more than 3,000 passengers and the departure hall was crowded with those stranded at the airport for their next flight.

"The situation in the morning was badly affected by haze with visibility of 350m, it's very risky for aircraft to take off or land, hence, the DCA has ordered to close the runway at about 7am," he said when contacted.

Due to the closure, a total of eight flights were delayed later at 11am, involving 1,000 passengers.

Among those stranded at the airport were a group of 20 students from SMK St.

Teresa, which was heading to Kuala Lumpur for a Petronas event as well as a group of primary pupils from Penang who were scheduled to leave the state capital at 9.35am.

It was learnt that the group of 29 pupils and three teachers were in the city for a study trip over the weekend.

They are expected to be taking another flight available in the evening.