CABINET TO DISCUSS SOLUTION TO HAZE PROBLEM TOMORROW

He added Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change (MESTECC) Yeo Bee Yin will table the latest report on haze to the cabinet.

”We are having our cabinet meeting tomorrow and I am sure the minister (Yeo) would be reporting on the matter and decide on possible steps to overcome the problem. The Foreign Ministry is ready to assist MESTECC,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after opening Malaysia-China Basketball Exchange Programme here today, Saifuddin said Wisma Putra has also formally contacted the Indonesian government on the current haze situation.

However, he did not elaborate on the discussion details between the two governments.

Recently, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia’s long-term planning to address the yearly transboundary haze needs the cooperation of neighbouring countries, including Indonesia.

The haze situation in Malaysia is often associated with open burning in neighbouring countries during the hot and dry season.

More than 500 schools in Putrajaya, Selangor, Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan have been ordered closed following worsening haze conditions in the country since Sept 5.

According to the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal today, the air quality in Sri Aman, Sarawak worsened to a hazardous level today, with the Air Pollutant Index (API) at 392 at 7 pm.  Sri Aman is a town close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border. — BERNAMA