KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — A purported Education Ministry notice declaring the closure of schools tomorrow due to the haze is false, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said today.

The education minister issued a brief statement on Facebook to repudiate the notice that mimicked his ministry’s official letterhead and was distributed online.

"I deny that the Education Ministry issued this statement,” he wrote in a post that included a screen capture of the offending notice.

The false notice claimed that schools in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Negri Sembilan in the peninsula as well as those in several areas of Sarawak would be closed tomorrow due to the haze.

Parts of Malaysia recorded "Unhealthy” air pollutant index (API) readings this evening, as shifting winds caused more smoke from open fires in Riau, Indonesia to be carried here.