Malaysia to hold crisis talks in RI over choking haze

Malaysia to hold crisis talks in RI over choking haze

Agencies
Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia announced on Wednesday it would hold crisis talks with
Indonesia over the choking haze caused by forest fires, mostly
from Sumatra, which had reached hazardous levels in parts of the
Malay peninsula.

"The Cabinet has instructed me to go to Jakarta to meet our
counterparts to identify long-term and short-term measures to
fight the haze. We will try to go as soon as possible,"
Environment Minister Adenan Satem announced during a press
conference.

He showed satellite images of Riau and North Sumatra provinces
on Sumatra island where hundreds of forest fires are raging,
sending pollutants across the Strait of Malacca and onto
Malaysia's central west coast.

"In Jakarta, we will discuss how we can help them," Adenan
said.

In Port Klang, a major shipping center just west of the
capital Kuala Lumpur, the air pollution index shot up to 410.
Several other parts of the country recorded levels in excess of
300, which is considered officially "hazardous".

"If the API hits 500 we will declare it an emergency," he
said. "The situation is not getting better, it's getting worse.

The minister also announced that the government had lifted an
eight-year ban on releasing air pollution index (API) figures, a
measure designed to protect tourism, which has been sharply
criticized in Kuala Lumpur.

"The Cabinet has agreed that we will announce publicly the API
figures throughout the country," he said.

Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said the crisis was already
having an impact on health, with clinics reporting a 150 percent
increase in asthma attacks, and higher rates of upper respiratory
tract conditions and eye problems.

"If the API exceeds 400 we want the schools to close. The
public should cut down all other activities. If they want to go
out they should wear masks," he said.

"We want to be transparent, we will not hide anything. If it
reaches 500 we will inform the public."

In Kuala Lumpur, office workers held handkerchiefs over their
faces as they ventured outside. The tops of the Petronas Towers,
once the world's tallest buildings, were almost invisible from
the ground.

Several schools in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur scrapped
classes and sent students home early, telling them to remain
indoors. Education Minister Hishamuddin Hussein said schools
could suspend classes at their discretion.

The haze currently wrapping tropical Kuala Lumpur resembled
fog in a European city on a wintry morning, but its appearance
belied the hot and humid conditions outdoors.

As visibility in the busy Strait of Malacca plummeted, The
Star daily said a container ship ran aground.

"We have issued a warning for shipping activities in the
Strait of Malacca. The warning is that the visibility is
hazardous to ships without navigational equipment," said
Meteorological Department official Wong Teck Kiong.

Visibility at Kuala Lumpur International Airport was 1
kilometer but no flights were affected.

Quake Kuan Hock of Northport, one of three port facilities at
Port Klang, said visibility was down to 200 meters (660 feet),
but operations were continuing despite the night-like conditions.

"We are still working, but at a slightly reduced pace," he
said. "We are taking safety precautions in the sense that all the
equipment has to put on headlights."

Noel Choong from the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy
Reporting Centre said the poor conditions were making it more
difficult to ensure security in the piracy-prone Strait of
Malacca.

"Normally, the crew do anti-piracy watches by walking around
the ship. With these conditions it's not that simple. If you keep
watch from the bridge, you may miss them if they come around the
stern or another side," he said.

Indonesian officials warned on Wednesday that forest fires
producing the haze would worsen in coming weeks.

Satellite images revealed more than 220 "hot spots" from
forest fires and from fires set to clear land in West Kalimantan
province (Indonesian Borneo) on Tuesday, said Kusnadi, head of
the provincial forest fire team.

In 1997 and 1998, choking haze caused mainly by Indonesian
forest fires enveloped parts of Southeast Asia including Malaysia
for months, causing an estimated US$9.3 billion in economic
losses to the region.