$210m lost due to haze, official

$210m lost due to haze, official

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): A drop in tourist arrivals and in
agricultural production due to the haze caused by forest fires
three years ago cost Malaysia nearly 800 million ringgit ($210
million), Parliament was told on Thursday.

Deputy Environment Minister Zainal Dahlan was quoted by state-
run Bernama news agency as saying the damage from the haze had
been calculated by researchers in University Putra Malaysia near
Kuala Lumpur.

No details were given about how farm output had been affected
by the haze.

Fine ash blowing in from fires in Indonesia's Kalimantan and
Sumatra provinces covered large parts of Malaysia and Singapore
with smog for weeks in 1997 and 1998, making the air
unbreathable.