By DayakDaily Team
SERIAN, Aug 13: The mountain normally visible behind the Serian District Council (SDC) headquarters has “disappeared” into the haze, prompting calls for those responsible for the recurring pollution to be held accountable.
SDC chairman Dato Peter Minos said the thick haze blanketing Serian was among the worst the district had experienced, with smoke from fires in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, blown across by prevailing winds.
“I was in Serian at 10am today and many are asking: where is our mountain behind and seen from Serian District Council? I replied: lost in the haze,” he said in a statement today.
Minos said the Air Pollutant Index (API) in Serian reached 201 yesterday, placing the air quality in the very unhealthy range.
The poor air quality had also prompted authorities to order the closure of 107 schools in the district, he said, adding that schools would only be able to reopen once haze conditions and air quality improved.
“Haze is one big headache for us in Sarawak, it being a bad health hazard. The hardest hit is our young children and the elderly,” he said.
Minos questioned why authorities in West Kalimantan appeared not to be sufficiently mindful of the impact the haze was having on Sarawakians.
“Why the authorities in West Kalimantan seem not mindful of our sufferings from their haze… is a wonder and mind-boggling. Looks like they are not sensitive to our plight,” he said.
He also questioned why large oil palm estates could not be prevented from using fire to clear land.
“Why cannot they stop the big oil palm estates from burning when they start with planting. If we Malaysians can do it, why cannot they?” he said.
Minos pointed out that Malaysia had regulations against open burning and enforcement action could be taken by the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) against those who flout them.
“We just do not burn and if we burn, NREB will hit us hard,” he said.
He said Sarawak continued to suffer from transboundary haze year after year, with the effects extending beyond health concerns to education, tourism and the wider economy.
“Maybe West Kalimantan pays Sarawak for the pains it causes on us — loss of good health, loss in school closures, loss on tourism revenues and losses of so many things,” he said.
Expressing frustration over the recurring problem, Minos said the haze was ultimately a human-made problem rather than a natural phenomenon.
“We are unhappy and fed up of the haze. It gets into our nerves. Hazes are human created, not natural, and somebody has to pay for it,” he said. — DayakDaily
