KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The Cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss and decide on possible steps to be taken to overcome the worsening haze in the country, said Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

He added Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change (MESTECC) Yeo Bee Yin will table the latest report on haze to the cabinet.

”We are having our Cabinet meeting tomorrow and I am sure the minister (Yeo) would be reporting on the matter and decide on possible steps to overcome the problem. The Foreign Ministry is ready to assist MESTECC,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after opening Malaysia-China Basketball Exchange Programme here today, Saifuddin said Wisma Putra has also formally contacted the Indonesian government on the current haze situation.

Advertisement

However, he did not elaborate on the discussion details between the two governments.

Recently, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia’s long-term planning to address the yearly transboundary haze needs the cooperation of neighbouring countries, including Indonesia.

The haze situation in Malaysia is often associated with open burning in neighbouring countries during the hot and dry season.

Advertisement

More than 500 schools in Putrajaya, Selangor, Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan have been ordered closed following worsening haze conditions in the country since Sept 5.

According to the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal today, the air quality in Sri Aman, Sarawak worsened to a hazardous level today, with the Air Pollutant Index (API) at 392 at 7pm.  Sri Aman is a town close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.

 In another development, Saifuddin said Malaysia condemned Saturday’s drone attacks on two of Saudi Arabia state-owned oil company Aramco’s oil facilities and hoped it would not continue to hurt the civilians and damage the country’s assets.

 “We are concerned as it can affect the global prices of oil and peace. We view seriously and condemned the attacks. Firstly, Malaysia does not like war as there will be attacks on civilians, economic assets.

“That action is not good at all,” he added.

The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the latest attacks involving 10 drones at the facilities. — Bernama

Distribution of hotspots detected from September 1 to 16, 2019. ― Picture via ASMC
Distribution of hotspots detected from September 1 to 16, 2019. ― Picture via ASMC