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Haze problem to figure at ASEAN mee



Haze problem to figure at ASEAN meet

The Hindu (16/9/97)

By V. Jayanth
Singapore, Sept.15
The seventh ministerial meeting of ASEAN Environment Ministers,
scheduled to being in Indonesia from Wednesday, will tackle that problem
of haze caused by forest fires in the region. The Indonesian State
Minister for Environment, Mr. Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, will preside over
the meeting. Malaysia and Singapore have been the worst affected by the
haze, which is a consequence of the raging forest fires in the Borneo
island of Indonesia, particularly Kalimanthan. last weekend, Malaysia
had to reschedule and even cancel some of its flights, including
international services from Kuala Lumpur, for the first time this
season.

Malaysian official said that pollution index had climbed to over 200 in
some parts of the country and peaked to over 290 today in Gombat, near
Kuala Lumpur. The Klang valley was the worst affected region while the
western provinces of Sabah and Sarawak continued to be under a thick
cover of haze for a prolonged spell. They said besides crippling normal
life and trade in some regions, the haze had adversely affected tourism.
"This is normally the season for regional tourists from ASEAN countries
to visit Sabah and Sarawak but most have stayed away. The frequent
changes and suspension of services to airports in Sarawak is another
reason for the steep fall in arrivals," they said.

The national committee on haze held its meeting in Kuala Lumpur today
and decided to continue with the cloudseeding operations. It deferred a
decision on declaring a state of " environment emergency," saying the
step would be taken if there was a deterioration in the condition. The
Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, said the authorities
had been asked to extend the cloudseeding operations to all the affected
provinces.