MALAYSIA IS NOT FAR BEHIND CHINA IN AIR POLLUTION

Putra Mosque (left) and the Malaysian Prime Minister's office (right) are shrouded by haze in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur on March 5, 2014. Six areas have recorded unhealthy air pollutant index (API) levels on Monday. -- FILE PHOTO: AFP

Haze has been an ongoing problem in many countries in the Southeast Asia region, and Malaysia is one of the worst affected. The main cause of this haze is the slash and burn practice by farmers and peat fires blown by the wind from Indonesia. especially Sumatra, which mainly affects the Peninsular Malaysia and Kalimantan, which mainly affects East Malaysia. A state of emergency was announced once in 2005 at Port Klang as the Air Pollution Index (API) went above the 500 level.^[1] Malaysia is working with the Indonesian authorities to help curb peat fires.^[2]Malaysia and Indonesia, together with other members of the ASEAN community, signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002 as a result of a 1997 haze. However, Indonesia is the only country that has not ratified the agreement. A repeat incident in 2005 and 2006 has forced Malaysia and Singapore to pressure Indonesia to ratify it.