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.