KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — The Education Ministry has ordered all schools in three states and the federal territories in the peninsula to be closed, amid the worsening haze that has blanketed Malaysia over the past two weeks.

In a tweet posted at around 11.30pm last night, deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan said the order was issued by Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid for all schools in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

“MAKLUMAT TERKINI; YBDS @MahdzirKhalid sebentar tadi telah mengarahkan semua sekolah2 d NegeriSelangor, WP & Putrajaya, NS & Melaka d tutup,” he said on the microblogging site.

(TRANSLATION: LATEST INFORMATION; YBDS @MahdzirKhalid just only ordered all schools in Selangor, WP & Putrajaya, NS & Mallaca to be closed.)

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The haze worsened yesterday, with the Department of Environment registering Air Pollutant Index (API) readings exceeding 100 in several states across the country.

National newswire Bernama reported that Banting in Selangor recorded the highest API, at 176 at 10am, while other areas in Selangor with unhealthy air were Port Klang, with an API reading of (165), Shah Alam (148), Kuala Selangor (144) and Petaling Jaya (143).

In Sarawak, four areas recorded unhealthy API, namely Sri Aman (134), Sarikei (119), Samarahan (118) and Kuching (105).

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The federal capital was also shrouded in haze, with Batu Muda recording an API of 161 and Cheras, at 152, while the administrative capital of Putrajaya recorded an API of 161.

In Negri Sembilan, Nilai recorded an API reading of 168, Seremban (162) and Port Dickson (146), while in Mallaca it was 143 at Bukit Rambai and Bandaraya Melaka (129).