Consumer Association of Subang and Shah Alam (Cassa) urged the government to be proactive in tackling the perennial air pollution in Malaysia.

The association also questioned the reliability of the Air Pollution Index (API) released by the Department of Environment (DOE) on its website twice daily - at 11am and 5pm.

indian workers cheated wage 061006 jacob george Cassa president Jacob George ( right ) told Malaysiakini the association received 19 complaints today and had been averaging 10 to 15 the past week from residents in the Klang Valley.

Most of the complainants said children and elders were the most affected, suffering from sickness and breathing difficulties, caused by the poor air quality.

According to the DOE, as of 11am today, 33 of 50 areas nationwide recorded ‘moderate' air quality while 16 were considered ‘good'.

Only Kuala Selangor recorded an API reading of 112, which is considered ‘unhealthy'.

Questionable API

All previous 'hot spots' such as Port Klang (88), Shah Alam (72) and Cheras (77) showed readings of ‘moderate' levels.

Air quality readings of 0 to 50 comes under the category of good, moderate from 51 to 100 and unhealthy from 101 to 200.

George, however, said API statistics are not longer reliable as a tool to inform the public of how bad the air pollution level is.

haze in kl 120609 "The public have lost confidence in it as it always show the air condition to be at a ‘moderate or good' stage. What they are told, and go through outside, is different.

"The complainants, especially the professionals, know that something is not right, and they are asking us whether the government has done anything to solve the problem," said George.

"I just do not understand why the need for secrecy of API. What is there to hide from the public. Malaysians will appreciate DOE telling them the real situation."

George said until now, nothing has been done to solve the problem which has been plaguing the nation for such a long time.

Actions must be taken

He said DOE updates on the air condition twice a day was not enough, and suggested that the alert should be given every two hours.

According to George, the government should instruct all news media to carry the updates about the air quality on a frequent basis.

They should also inform the public as to the appropriate precautions to take in situations where the air quality has deteriorated.

open burning "Other than that, excess open burning must be stopped, heavy vehicles which emit waste gases must be reduced in number," he said.

George also said that the Malaysian government must make official protests to the Indonesian government, informing them of the current situation in Malaysia.

The illegal burnings in Riau province of Sumatra last month were the main factor contributing to the air pollution in Malaysia.

"It is not a small issue, but a matter of life and death; the government should treat it seriously and take steps to solve the problem as soon as possible," he said.