SHAH ALAM, Sept 4 — Serian, Sarawak is currently placed under a state of emergency after worsening haze conditions reached hazardous levels, said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, has granted royal consent to the emergency decree.
"This decision was made following advice from the Prime Minister and the Premier of Sarawak as well as relevant agencies on the level of air quality in the area," it said in a statement today.
The PMO added that necessary measures will be taken more effectively to
protect the health and welfare of the affected population.
“The government will continue to monitor developments from time to time and ensure that all necessary actions are implemented immediately, including mitigation measures and the provision of health information and advice to the public,” it said.
The disaster emergency will allow federal agencies led by the National Disaster Management Agency to handle all matters to ensure public health and well-being.
As of 4pm today, Sarawak tops the list in Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, with two areas in the hazardous category: IPD Serian recorded 514, the highest reading in Malaysia, followed by Kuching at 313.
Two other areas in Sarawak recorded very unhealthy API readings between 201 and 300: Samarahan at 288 and Sri Aman at 239.
A state of emergency was previously declared across Sarawak during the haze crisis in September 1997. The same order was imposed on Kuala Selangor and Klang in August 2005, as well as several districts in Johor in June 2013, also due to haze.
Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper recently reported a significant increase in the number of hotspots in Kalimantan since early August, with more than half of them involving oil palm plantation areas.
The forest fires have caused air pollution to spread to Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
