A number of residents in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, want the state authorities to make public the exact readings of the Air Pollutant Index (API) instead of merely giving broad categories such as good, moderate, unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous.

One academician, who asked not to be identified, told malaysiakini that the authorities should be more transparent in revealing the API readings.

Air quality is monitored based on actual measurements of pollutant concentrations in the ambient air at selected monitoring sites throughout the country.

At these stations, the presence of pollutants in the air emitted from the various sources such as motor vehicles, industries and open-burning activities are being continuously monitored.