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.

In 1997, the country was badly hit by the haze and the Air Pollutant Index in Kuching was at an all-time high of 800. The government has since decided not to release the index figures for fear that it would cause undue alarm, especially among tourists.

A parent, who also requested anonymity, said if the actual API figures are made available to the, he could decide whether or not to send his kids to school.

According to sources, the API readings on Wednesday reached its height nearing or exceeding 400, or hazardous level, in Kuching but this was never revealed.

After an early morning thunderstorm yesterday, the Department of Environment reported that air quality remained at an 'unhealthy' level.

However, today the situation has been downgraded to 'moderate' as more rain fell in various parts of Kuching due to cloud-seeding operations.

Figures can mislead

Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Dr George Chan Hong Nam, who chaired a State Security Committee (SCC) meeting on Wednesday, defended the government's decision not to reveal figures of API reading.

His contention is that the situation could change often within the same day and thus the figures could mislead and confuse.

Therefore, he added, that the government has decided to release information in broad categories in order not to cause any unnecessary panic and alarm.

This view is supported by the Natural Resources and Environment Board deputy chairperson Dr James Dawos,

Dawos, who is also the member of parliament for Mambong, said one should not try to judge the API reading by what they see.

"Low visibility does not necessarily mean that the API reading is high just as good visibility does not mean that the air is healthy," he said.

"There could be times when visibility is very poor but the API reading is not serious and this is because of the moisture in the air.

"It is more dangerous when it looks clear but the API reading is high because this means that the particulate matter (contaminants) in the air is very fine," he said.

Meanwhile, overnight heavy rain has been reported in Sibu in Sarawak's central region. Kapit and several other towns have also reported improvement in the haze situation with moderate API level.

According to the Department of Environment, the whole of Sarawak is out of the unhealthy API level, and conditions are improving and in some places like Limbang, the air quality is back on the 'good' level.