Many residents of Kuching could be seen wearing masks when venturing out to protect themselves from the worsening smog which has shrouded the capital city of Sarawak.

As the haze appears to be thickening over Kuching, Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Dr George Chan Hong Nam chaired an emergency high-level meeting of government officials to discuss remedial measures.

Meanwhile, the Kuching Chinese Schools Board of Management today ordered the city's six Chung Hua Primary Schools, which has a total enrolment of 7,000 students, to cease all outdoor activities.

Daily readings of the Air Pollutant Index (API) are not released. Officials have only described the situation as having reached "unhealthy" levels.

The haze condition is worse than yesterday with visibility, according to most people, being less than one kilometre, causing concern that forest fires are still raging in cropland across the border in Indonesia's Kalimantan.

The lack of rain over Kuching and other parts of the state over the past few days has also contributed to the problem.

Local newspapers today carried additional reports on the growing haze menace. However, Chinese newspapers devoted much more coverage, often running into several pages accompanied by photos, not only of the haze in Kuching but several other towns in Sarawak.

Fishermen warned

Sarawak Fisheries director Suhaili Lee has asked both traditional fishermen and deep-sea vessel operators to be exceptionally carefull when they set out to sea.

"Those intending to go out to the seas should get themselves properly equipped with such instruments as the Global Positioning System (GSP) and ocean chart, as well as making proper preparations so that search parties would be able to locate them in the event of any eventuality,' he added.

"Due to poor visibility, equipments such as a compass will not be useful unless they have additional tools like the GPS and ocean chart which are crucial to identify fishermen's exact location."

Meanwhile, Social Development and Urbanisation Minister Dr James Jemut Masing strongly refuted claims that native padi cultivators are responsible for the haze.

"Shifting cultivation has been practised in Sarawak for ages and it alone could not contribute to the problems now faced by the state," he said in a report carried by the Borneo Post today.

According to Masing, a native Iban, shifting cultivators are allowed to burn their farms for cultivation but plantation companies require permits from the relevant government departments.

His state cabinet colleague in charge of agriculture and food industries, Adenan Satem, said it remains to be seen whether the haze will affect agricultural production.

"But from the previous experience in 1997 and 1998, there is some effect (if the haze persists)," he warned.

Then, Sarawak was badly hit by the haze with the Air Pollutant Index at an all-time high of 800 and visibility on Kuching roads was no more than a few hundred metres.

The government has since decided not to release the index figures for fear that it would cause undue alarm, especially among tourists.