Ahead of National Day celebrations, Malaysia to step up haze mitigation measures with Indonesia
Sixteen areas in Malaysia had unhealthy air quality as at 9am on Wednesday (Aug 26). The country celebrates its 69th National Day on Aug 31.
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PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to step up measures to tackle transboundary haze as Putrajaya gears up for National Day celebrations amid unhealthy air quality levels linked to fires in neighbouring Indonesia.
Sixteen areas in Malaysia had “unhealthy” Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as at 9am on Wednesday (Aug 26), local media reported. They included parts of Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. A day earlier, about 30 areas had unhealthy air quality.
Malaysia’s 69th National Day celebration is set to take place at Dataran Putrajaya on Aug 31 while the Malaysia Day celebration will be held in Kuching, Sarawak on Sep 16.
Malaysia’s Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup said the commitment to ramp up measures with Indonesia was reached during a phone call on Monday with his counterpart Jumhur Hidayat, news agency Bernama reported.
“With the El Nino phenomenon expected to intensify towards October 2026, coinciding with the Southwest Monsoon, both nations are fully committed to stepping up prevention and early suppression measures,” Arthur said in a statement.
He also expressed the Malaysian government’s appreciation to Indonesia for granting official clearance for cloud seeding operations to cross its airspace, targeting areas along their shared border.
Sarawak, which borders Indonesia’s Kalimantan on Borneo island, has been worst hit by the haze.
As of Wednesday morning, three areas in Sarawak had unhealthy air quality.
Sri Aman registered an API reading of 166, followed by Serian at 164 and Samarahan at 162.
Under Malaysia’s API, readings of up to 50 are classified as good, 51 to 100 as moderate, 101 to 200 as unhealthy, and 201 to 300 as very unhealthy. Levels above 300 are hazardous.
In Kuala Lumpur, the API level was 159 in Cheras and 158 in Putrajaya. Shah Alam recorded an API of 157, reported news outlet The Star.
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“Malaysia acknowledges and endorses the expeditious measures undertaken by the Indonesian government, steered by President Prabowo, in ramping up forest and land fire mitigation strategies,” Arthur said in a statement on Monday, as quoted by Bernama.
Malaysia’s National Disaster Management Agency and Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) are preparing a timetable to synchronise operations with the Indonesian Armed Forces Commander, the minister said.
He added that Putrajaya, in the spirit of neighbourliness and regional solidarity, remains prepared to assist Indonesia in putting out the fires, subject to Cabinet approval.
Indonesia’s measures include the mobilisation of an additional 1,500 Indonesian National Armed Forces personnel, the deployment of high-capacity helicopters for water bombing missions and weather modification operations, Arthur noted.
He said his ministry, through the Department of Environment and MetMalaysia, will sustain surveillance of hotspot activity and ambient air quality while preserving channels of communication with Indonesian authorities for the welfare of citizens in both countries.
Malaysia’s Department of Environment, under the NRES ministry, on Tuesday afternoon cited the “movement of haze from various directions” for the increase in areas with unhealthy air quality along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and in several areas of Sarawak from the previous day.
The department cited findings by the Singapore-based ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre on Monday, which detected 287 hotspots in Kalimantan and 65 in Sumatra in Indonesia.
Another 11 hotspots were detected in Malaysia.
Malaysia’s Department of Environment said the National Open Burning Action Plan and National Haze Action Plan have been activated to coordinate government agencies’ efforts and respond to the country’s haze situation.
Under the haze action plan, all outdoor activities will be suspended when API readings exceed 100. Schools, kindergartens and nurseries will be closed immediately when readings exceed 200.
Penang authorities on Tuesday ordered schools to remain on alert to the latest warnings, Malaysian media reported.
Last week, Sarawak authorities ordered a two-day closure of 591 schools across 10 districts as haze conditions worsened in the East Malaysia state.
On Sunday, Malaysia Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the ministry has recorded a surge in asthma and upper respiratory tract infection cases due to the haze, local media reported.
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