KUCHING: Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) Minister Yeo Bee Yin will make an official phone call to her counterpart in Indonesia to address the smoke haze that is currently enveloping the country.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen said he was in contact with the minister who has given an assurance that the ministry was exhausting all diplomatic avenues to monitor the haze and find possible solutions.
“One of the main urgencies right now is for Indonesia to put out the forest fires,” he told to reporters yesterday when he revealed that the authorities were weighing the suitability of carrying out cloud seeding which might happen in the next few days.
“But cloud seeding is only a temporary measure. The main thing is Indonesia needs to put out their fires for good,” he said during a press conference yesterday at the Democratic Action Party (DAP) local headquarters.
According to him, the Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia has met with his Indonesian counterpart last Monday in Malaya to inform him about the seriousness of haze issue. In addition, the Foreign Ministry is arranging an official phone call for Yeo.
He said that he would visit the Indonesian consulate to try to get the Consul to pressure the relevant officials to abide by an agreement on the control of transboundary haze.
Last month Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia held a meeting and now they are requesting a second meeting (a teleconference) for the ministers of the environment.
As part of his efforts to monitor the effects of the haze, Dr Yii had visited three schools in his constituency and will try to visit more to see how the students and teachers could be helped.
“A majority of the schools today (yesterday) are closed except for pupils who are taking the UPSR which is a national examination and cannot be postponed,” he said.
He also talked about a standard operating procedure (SOP) called ‘Ops Topeng’ under which face masks are given to students and teachers, and their exposure to the outdoors is limited.
“After the students have finished their exams, parents have been advised to bring them home immediately. In cases where the parents find it difficult to bring their children home immediately, the students will be placed in air conditioned rooms to wait in order to limit their exposure to the haze,” he said, adding that his visits to the schools were to ensure that the SOPs are in place and that the schools have the contact numbers of nearby health clinics.
The doctor also said that he is in contact with the state Education Department and the Health Ministry to make sure that all their facilities are ready to cater for any unusual increase of patients.
