Media exaggerate haze problem

Media exaggerate haze problem

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Foreign news agencies with a possible political agenda are exaggerating Malaysia's haze problem, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad complained on Monday.

A smoky haze from Indonesian forest fires covered a large part of the country on July 15, prompting calls in the local media for detailed air pollution figures to be published.

The government refuses to publish detailed figures on the grounds that these will be distorted and will scare away tourists.

Mahathir defended his government's environmental record, saying 56 percent of the country was still covered by natural forest and another 20 percent by planted forest.