Malaysian media warned about haze

Malaysian media warned about haze

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The Malaysia government has warned television stations they could be taken off the air for broadcasting negative reports on the haze, local news reports said yesterday.

Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat denied that Malaysia was suffering from haze and cautioned broadcast media to use a different word to describe the smog that has enveloped parts of eastern Malaysia, shutting schools and airports.

"They can report on the fires and action taken to put them out, but they should not label it as haze," Mohamed was quoted as saying in the government-backed New Straits Times. He suggested news reports "focus on the positive and not the negative."

In recent weeks, schools in Miri, Sipitang and other areas of eastern Malaysia, on Borneo island, were shut down as pollution soared to hazardous levels. Airports in nearby Kota Kinabulu and Labuan were closed as visibility dropped to as low as 50 meters.