[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 05 Aug 1999
Time: 05:15:06
Remote User: -
Malaysia halts haze disclosure to avoid scaring tourists
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (AFP) - Malaysia has decided not to disclose readings of its air pollution index to protect its tourist industry as hazy conditions linked to fires in Indonesia return, a report said Thursday.
Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding said the cabinet made the decision so as not to "drive away the tourists."
"There is nothing alarming about the haze. It is a usual phenomenon which occurs at a certain time of the year. So we shouldn't pay too much emphasis on it," he told The Star daily.
"If we do, people may become oversensitive to it," Law said, adding that the the country's overall air quality was between good and moderate.
An index reading of zero to 50 indicates good air quality, 51 to 100 means moderate and above 100 is unhealthy.
Law said 82 hotspots were detected in the western Indonesian island of Sumatra and 332 in Kalimantan on Borneo island on Wednesday, adding that the figure had been fluctuating daily.
The government has ordered authorities to be prepared to activate a national haze action plan amid signs of smog returning in a dry spell over the next few weeks.
Meteorological officials said most parts of Kuala Lumpur were hazy, and this was likely to linger for several days as south-westerly winds brought smoke from Indonesian fires towards Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Exacerbated by the El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, haze from the fires in Sumatra and Borneo covered much of Southeast Asia in 1997, causing serious health and transport hazards.
Forest and ground fires have been blamed on plantation owners and small farmers using slash and burn methods to clear land, mainly in Indonesia.