KL seeks foreign help to combat haze

KL seeks foreign help to combat haze

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia has turned for help to France and Canada to combat the haze pollution hanging over the country, reports said yesterday.

Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding said officials from the two embassies were helping the government to map out an action plan to tackle the worsening haze nationwide.

"We feel that the French and Canadians, due to their well- known experiences in putting out forest fires can offer us the appropriate solution, " he was quoted as saying in The Star daily.

Malaysia has declared the haze situation, the worst in three years, as a national disaster. Forest fires in neighboring Indonesia have caused severe pollution in the atmosphere above the country.

Air quality in Sabah and Sarawak states on Borneo (Kalimantan) island, bordering Indonesia's Kalimantan province, dwindled to "very unhealthy" levels Friday, forcing Malaysian Airlines to cancel more than 10 flights.

In Kuala Lumpur, a cloud-seeding operation to bring rain has been on hold since Thursday because there were no suitable cloud formations.

Law, who described the haze as "bad" and "depressing," said satellite images showed that forest fires were still occurring in the Indonesian province of south Kalimantan and Sumatra.

He said he had asked for help from the World Meteorological Department Organization of Five last month but has yet to receive a response.

Malaysia is a member of the organization, which is currently being chaired by Indonesia.

Law said his Indonesian counterpart had been cooperative in providing him with information on Indonesia's situation. He is to visit Jakarta next week to discuss the problem, which has also affected Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines.

Officials and environmentalists say the smog highlights the local air pollution problem, caused mainly by the country's 7.2 million cars and millions of motorcycles.