The Department of Environment (DOE) today warned that the haze in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia may worsen in the next two due to a staggering increase of hotspots in Sumatera.

DOE director-general Rosnani Ibrahim said the number of hotspots in Sumatera as spotted in satellite images yesterday showed an increase to 293 from 33.

She said if the southwesterly monsoon winds continue to blow towards Malaysia, the hazy condition would deteriorate further.

"Unfortunately, the hotspots have increased. That being the case, depending very much on the prevailing wind condition, if it is blowing in our direction, we expect some heavy condition of haze to recur.

"Hopefully, the weather will be kind to us," she was quoted as saying in a Bernama report.

Rosnani also expressed hope that Indonesian authorities would take prompt action to reduce open burnings to prevent the hazy condition from deteriorating.

Step up monitoring

Following the sharp rise in hotspots, she said, her department would step up monitoring of air quality status to detect any fundamental changes.

She said the air quality in the Klang Valley improved today, with only areas around Port Klang reported to be at unhealthy level.

Air quality status in Melaka and Muar also showed signs of improvement but was still at unhealthy stage while the situation in the northern peninsula was moderate in many areas.

Malaysians have also been warned not to compound the situation with open burning.

Rosnani stressed that open burnings are punishable under Section 29(A) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and offenders are liable to be fined up to RM500,000 or jailed up to five years.

Yesterday, the government said the environmental condition here was improving and expressed concern that news coverage on the matter could be detrimental to the tourism industry.

"The haze is not as bad as reported... I was in Santiago (Chile) two days ago and haze is a permanent problem there. But nobody talks about it, and not the international press," Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister S Sothinathan told reporters yesterday.

Concrete measures needed

In a related development, the National Human Rights Society (Hakam) took the government to task for its negligence in tackling the recurring haze problem over the years.

"The current smog blanketing several parts of this country raises serious ethical, legal and moral questions pertaining to the responsibility of the relevant authorities," its president Cecil Rajendra said in a statement.

He said for nearly two decades Malaysians have been given assurances that measures are being or will be implemented to counter the problem, but 'little or nothing has been done'.

"Corporate culprits/criminals responsible for open burning, forest fires are getting away with little more than a slap on their wrists. Meanwhile, hospital wards are being choked with respiratory cases, schools are being shut down and citizens made to suffer...," Rajendra.added.

He said it was ironic that government pursues anti-smoking campaign and the hazards of secondary smoke with religious zeal but pays 'scant regard' to the dangers posed by a polluted atmosphere.

In view of this, he said Hakam urges the DOE and relevant authorities to take immediate action before more citizens are laid low by the haze.