KUCHING, Nov 5: Sarawak government lashed back at environment minister Yeo Bee Yin for accusing the state of not carrying out cloud seeding operations in the recent haze situation.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has deemed Yeo, who is the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister, as being ignorant of the protocol and arrangement between the federal disaster management agency and its state counterpart.
Uggah, who is the state disaster management committee chairman, expressed regret that Yeo, in the Dewan Rakyat today, blamed Sarawak for not carrying out the operations despite several parts in the state suffering hazardous air quality in September amid the transboundary haze from neighbouring Kalimantan.
“As a minister herself, Yeo should know that such operation is not the responsibility of the Sarawak government. Furthermore, Sarawak does not have the aircraft for cloud seeding purposes.
“When the haze situation deteriorated with Sri Aman hitting the hazardous level due to smog from forest fires in neighbouring Kalimantan, Indonesia, Sarawak government had requested assistance from the National Disaster Management Committee (Nadma),” Uggah said in a statement.
He added that even if Yeo was not aware of the arrangement between the Sarawak government and Nadma, it does not grant her the carte blanche to make such accusation in Parliament.
Uggah advised Yeo to check her facts thoroughly and fairly.
Members of the media in Sarawak joined the cloud seeding operations by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) and Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) on a C-130 aircraft from Sept 20-22.
The operations were carried out together with the Kuching Water Board (KWB), Works Department, Civil Defence Force (APM) and Nadma.
Locations covered during the cloud-seeding operations included Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Betong, Saratok, Sarikei, Kanowit, Mukah and Lundu. — DayakDaily
