OH CHIN ENG The Star 5 Oct 15;
ALOR SETAR: Close to 7,000 schools with almost four million students will be closed today and tomorrow because of the worsening air quality over the peninsula.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said schools in Peninsular Malaysia, except those in Kelantan, would be closed.
As for Kelantan, Labuan, Sabah and Sarawak, he said the ministry would monitor the air quality levels hourly before deciding on schools there.
“If the levels deteriorate in these four places, we will take the same steps,” he told reporters at SMK Seri Ampang in Jalan Kuala Kedah yesterday.
The directive affects 6,798 schools, which have a total enrolment of 3.7 million students and more than 300,000 teachers.
All teachers and school staff, with the exception of security guards, have also been told to stay at home.
“This matter must be addressed correctly and quickly as it can harm our children in school,” he said.
Mahdzir also said that schools ordered to close because of the haze need not replace classes.
He also announced that the Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia examinations would not be postponed because of the haze.
“These examinations will be postponed only if the Air Pollutant Index (API) levels breach 500 or ‘emergency’ level,” he said.
Mahdzir said state education departments and schools should make arrangements to supply face masks to students sitting for examinations.
Afternoon sessions of schools in Kedah, Terengganu and Johor continued as usual yesterday but some schools recorded a low turnout due to rumours over social media that classes had been cancelled.
The Education Ministry had closed 4,561 schools from nine states, involving 2,617,432 students as the API reading breached the unhealthy and very unhealthy levels between Sept 15 and 30.
The nine states were Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Pahang, Johor, Sarawak and Perak.
In KUALA LUMPUR, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Selangor cancelled all classes because of the deteriorating air quality.
In a statement, it said the final examinations for diploma students would be carried out as scheduled, adding that staff were also required to attend work as normal.
“UiTM will continue to monitor the situation and keep the students notified from time to time.
“Announcement of any cancellation of classes will be made a day earlier,” it said.
As for the campuses in other states, it said their heads would make the announcement.
The last time a state of emergency was declared over the haze in the peninsula was on Aug 11, 2005, covering Kuala Selangor and Port Klang.
The API readings rose beyond the very hazardous level of more than 500 in the two areas.
Schools, government offices, businesses and the ports were closed but shops selling essential goods, supermarkets, clinics and pharmacies remained open.
The worst case of air pollution caused by the haze, however, occurred in September 1997. An emergency was declared in Kuching and eastern areas of Sarawak when the API reading reached the extremely hazardous level of 839.
Malaysia shuts schools as haze worsens
Close to half of Malaysia's 52 pollutant monitoring stations registered unhealthy levels of air quality, with this year's pollution set to be the worst on record.
Channel NewsAsia 4 Oct 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian authorities on Sunday (Oct 4) ordered most of the country's schools shut for two days because of possible health risks posed by the thick haze from Indonesian forest fires.
The education ministry said all schools, except a handful in outlying areas, must close their doors on Monday and Tuesday.
"The haze that is happening is beyond our control," said Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid. "This issue has to be addressed wisely and quickly as it can do harm to our children. We will not compromise with anything that may bring harm to our children in schools."
The persistent smog has afflicted large swathes of Southeast Asia for weeks, sparking health alerts, numerous school shutdowns and affecting flights. The pollution is on track to be the worst on record, surpassing the US$9 billion damage recorded in 1997.
Close to half of Malaysia's 52 pollutant monitoring stations around the country registered "unhealthy" air quality on Sunday. Six stations, including one in Kuala Lumpur registered "very unhealthy" levels, with one area in the outskirts of the capital hovering close to the "hazardous" level.
While Malaysia, Singapore and large portions of Indonesia have for weeks choked on pungent smoke from forest fires on Sumatra Island, the Philippine island of Cebu also suffered its seventh straight day of haze on Saturday.
Monsoon winds blowing northeast from the Indonesian blazes could have carried the smog, state weather forecaster Romeo Aguirre told AFP. Meanwhile, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Sunday he hoped Indonesia could discuss long term measures to tackle the crisis.
"We hope its commitment is not only on paper or mere statements pleasant to the ears, but through implementation which could end all haze problems," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
The worsening haze has also affected key sporting events in the region. Day one of the Singapore leg of the FINA World Championships - swimming's World Cup - which included four-time US Olympic gold medallist Missy Franklin, was cancelled on Saturday.
One of Malaysia's biggest marathons set for Sunday was also cancelled because of health fears for the 30,000 runners, and local football league matches have been shelved.
- AFP/yt
Haze: Malaysia Cup match between Perak and JDT postponed
IVAN LOH The Star 4 Oct 15;
IPOH: The Malaysia Cup match between Perak and Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) has been postponed.
After getting instructions from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), the match was called off as the Air Pollutant Index (API) exceeded 160.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday after the announcement, Perak Malaysia Cup team caretaker manager Datuk Azhar Ahmad said another date would be decided by the FAM later.
"JDT has an upcoming AFC match. We need to accommodate their schedule," he said at the Perak Stadium.
Four Malaysia Cup matches have been called off on Saturday due to the haze.
The FAM earlier announced that matches at venues where the API reading exceeded 150 would be postponed.
Azhar said tickets that have been sold for the match could be kept and used on the rescheduled match date.
"Tickets will continue to be sold at counters," he said.
Very unhealthy air quality in seven areas
RAHMAH GHAZALI The Star 4 Oct 15;
PETALING JAYA: Seven areas recorded very unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings with Shah Alam being the highest at 299.
As of 8am Sunday, the haze situation worsened in six other areas.
Very unhealthy readings were recorded in Batu Muda (278), Petaling Jaya (250), Banting (244), Port Klang (234), Putrajaya (231) and Seremban (202), according to the Department of Environment’s website.
Twenty-four areas had unhealthy API readings including Nilai (198), Port Dickson (191), Cheras (182), Bukit Rambai (179), Bandaraya Melaka (174) and SK Jalan Pegoh (171).
Other areas include Kuala Selangor (167), Seberang Jaya 2 (162), USM (159), Jalan Tasek (153) and Muar (146).
Moderate readings were recorded in Langkawi (98), Tanjung Malim (94), Kangar (83), Kuching (80) and both Kota Baru and Tanah Merah (77).
The haze, which has affected the country for more than a month, was due to the open burnings in Indonesia's Sumatra and Kalimantan.
It had also forced closure of schools with flights cancelled. The annual Standard Chartered KL Marathon was also called off.
API readings of between 0 and 50 indicate good air quality; 51 and 100 (moderate) 101 and 200 (unhealthy), 201 and 300 (very unhealthy) and over 301 (hazardous).
Flights delayed and cancelled in Penang
ROYCE TAN The Star 4 Oct 15;
GEORGE TOWN: The worsening air quality has caused several flights from the Penang International Airport (PIA) in Bayan Lepas to be cancelled and delayed.
PIA senior manager Ariff Jaafar said on Sunday that three flights to Subang were cancelled while five other flights to Subang and Johor Baru were delayed.
He added that the operations of PIA remained normal and the Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) was monitoring the situation with the Malaysian Meteorological Department and airline companies.
Ariff urged passengers to be patient and check for the latest updates on MAHB’s Twitter, which uses the handle @MY_Airports.
As of noon, API readings recorded by the Department of Environment stood at 148 in Perai, 174 in Seberang Jaya and 172 on the island.
Figures from the Malaysian Meteorological Department showed that horizontal visibility as of noon was at 0.8km in Bayan Lepas and 0.4km in Butterworth.
Several events in Penang including the Seberang Perai Municipal Council’s (MPSP) car free morning were cancelled.
Haze forces closure of three airport runways
RAHMAH GHAZALI The Star 4 Oct 15;
PETALING JAYA: The runways of three airports were forced to close due to the deteriorating haze on Sunday morning, Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) said.
In a series of tweets, MAB said the affected airports were the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Sultan Abdul Halim Airport in Alor Setar and Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh.
MAB said visibility fell to 350m at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport as of 6.35am.
"The airport runway was declared closed until further notice. All passengers are advised to check with the respective airlines on the flight schedules," it said.
MAB also said that visibility was at 500m for both Sultan Abdul Halim Airport and Sultan Azlan Shah Airport as of 7.20am and 7.30am respectively.
It, however, said that operations were running as usual at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2).
"Visibility at KLIA and KLIA2 was reported at 1000m as of 8am this morning. Airport operations are currently running as usual.
"However, all passengers are advised to check with the respective airlines on their flight schedules," it added.
Haze: Less than 3km visibility
New Straits Times 4 Oct 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: Haze-induced low visibility of less than three kilometres is expected to persist till tomorrow over the waters off the Straits of Melaka, Tioman, Bunguran, Kuching and Reef South.
The condition is dangerous to sea vessels without navigational equipment, according to a Meteorological Department statement today.
Low visibility is also expected to persist over the waters off Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor, Pahang, and Sarawak.--BERNAMA
