PETALING JAYA: Just as most Malaysians are heaving a sigh of relief that the country is in the recovery stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, another problem is looming – the annual haze.
The haze which normally occurs between June and October may make a comeback if neighbouring countries and Malaysia fail to control open burning that is the cause of transboundary haze.
Medical experts are concerned that the haze may cause further problems to those already infected with Covid-19.
Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said risk groups such as children and the elderly who are Covid-19 positive will face enhanced respiratory problems if the haze occurs.
Dr Zainal said as Covid-19 spreads through droplets and is not an airborne virus, people could protect themselves by continuing to mask up whether or not haze occurs this year.
“There has been no evidence or study that the haze situation will increase the spread of Covid-19, so technically it’s a very remote possibility.
“But because the virus spreads through droplets, using a face mask will lessen the possibility of infection.
“I would advise people to continue using a face mask, before, during and after the haze,” he said.
Environment Department air division director Mashitah Darus said Asean countries need to be certain that this does not recur this year.
“This is because polluted air can increase the risk of Covid-19 infection to the general public.
“In this season, the southern part of the South-East Asian region that covers major Indonesian islands such as Sumatra and Kalimantan and Peninsular Malaysia will experience a dry season with surface temperatures above normal levels and rainfall less than other seasons,” Mashitah told The Star.
For this reason, the control of haze-causing forest fires should be monitored more closely for the dry season, she said.
In June, the current state of air quality based on the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading showed that almost all air quality in the country was at a moderate level.
The department also issued a strong warning to all landowners to monitor their land, especially in vulnerable and often burned areas such as peatlands, farms, construction sites, landfills including illegal dumping sites, forests, shrubs and industrial areas.
“Landowners are required to take steps to prevent invasion by irresponsible parties resulting in open burning.
“Strict action will be taken against any irresponsible party causing open burning, including landowners,” said Mashitah.
Under Section 29 (A) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, those convicted of an open burning offence may be subject to a fine of up to RM500,000 or imprisonment of up to five years or both.
Among others, the department is patrolling and using drones to monitor open burning incidents and fire-prone areas such as peatlands and waste disposal sites; monitoring the current air quality status; and enhancing community participation to help monitor cases.
Quoting media reports, Mashitah said Indonesia had started cloud seeding operations as the country’s first step in overcoming its annual forest fires, believed to be the cause of haze around South-East Asia.
“Indonesia began implementing cloud seeding in the Riau hotspot in Sumatra, with plans to do so in other parts of Borneo.
“This operation will continue throughout the dry season, which is expected to continue until the end of September and the focus is on peatlands that are flammable when dried for agricultural purposes,” she said.
On July 1, Reuters reported that the Central Kalimantan province in Indonesia declared a state of emergency until Sept 28 after identifying over 700 fires.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department said the API for most places in the country was currently at a normal level, with most places in Sabah and Sarawak registering good air quality while the peninsula had good or moderate readings.
Its director-general Jailan Simon said as of Wednesday night, there was only one hotspot in Sumatra and none in Kalimantan, due to rain.“Rain is expected over the next few days in the areas so we won’t be experiencing transboundary haze for the time being,” he said when contacted.
The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre also noted that rainy weather prevailed over many parts of the Asean region yesterday and hotspot activities in the region remained generally subdued.
Meanwhile, the Fire and Rescue Department said it recorded a total of 94 open burning cases at forests in May and June as well as 54 cases at farms or orchards in the same period.
For forests, there were 50 open burning cases in May followed by 44 cases in June while at farms or orchards, there were 31 cases in May and 23 incidents the following month.
RangeRover222Blame it on the greed of palm oil tycoons, incl. Msians. The authorities are partners in crime. The EU is right in wanting to ban palm oil.
10/07/2020 12:31 PM
SunnyWongAnnually it occurs in July/August. This time, we are better prepared because of wearing masks (and we have them in stock in our own houses). BUT wearing masks only doesn't mean we don't practice/remember about the 3S/3C and 3Ws.
10/07/2020 12:32 PM
WellingtonSkyoh I thought all settled with jokowi..apparently not then...good MCO again!!
10/07/2020 12:32 PM
Zillionaireno big deal, already got used wearing masks daily.
10/07/2020 12:33 PM
LOVE IS IN THE AIR.....Initiatives taken by the previous minister would have prevented this or at least reduced the effects
10/07/2020 12:33 PM
MoneyMachineMaker发发发Indonesia is already sending love signals These fellows will never learn! It is high time the goverment puts its foot down on transborder pollution!
10/07/2020 12:34 PM
GothicRockDont buy N95 mask in shopee . 3M said they dont have responsibility for 3rd party seller.
10/07/2020 12:35 PM
Kenny ChuaAlready here, I'm in klang from seremban & it looks like fogging when i reached here.
Post the disposal of its remaining 51% interest in the loss-making timber business Aturmaju (Sabah) Holdings Sdn Bhd (AHSB) for RM5.6m on 24th June 2020, ARB has fully transformed itself to be involved in the IT business, focussing mainly on the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Since the transformation started in 4Q18 when the group decided to diversify into the IT segment, it has then experienced a significant jump in its FY19 earnings to RM34.8m (+828%YoY). The higher earnings was attributed to sales from: (i) Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) (given their low adoption of business digitalisation), and (ii) Government-linked Companies in South East Asia. The stock (which was unchanged at RM0.32 yesterday) has recently been trending sideway after retracing from a high of RM0.42. From an Ichimoku technical perspective, the stock is currently staging a potential “Kumo Breakout”, which could head towards our resistance target of RM0.39 (+21.8% potential upside). Meanwhile, should the buying momentum persist the next resistance level can be seen at RM0.42 (+31.2%). Our stop loss level is pegged at RM0.265 (or 17.1% downside risk). From a fundamental perspective, the group is currently trading at an undemanding PER of 3.3x (based on historical earnings) with a net cash position of 8.6 sen/share (representing c.30% of its share price)
kenieARB BERHAD Additional Listing Announcement /Subdivision of Shares
Details of corporate proposal Details of corporate proposal : Conversion of Irredeemable Convertible Preference Shares to Ordinary Shares No. of shares issued under this corporate proposal : 35,968,000 Issue price per share ($$) : 0.20 Listing Date : 13/07/2020
10/07/2020 4:27 PM
InvestorA8No. of shares issued under this corporate proposal : 35,968,000
Biggest conversion, give company RM6,833,920
10/07/2020 5:30 PM
goodiewilly35 millions are owned by Dato Sri Liew..see the latest announcements
