SENATE The hot weather brought on by the El Nino phenomenon has not only affected humans but also chickens, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

He said as a result of the extreme weather condition, chickens suffer heat stress which could cause stunted growth.

"This occurs when poultry farmers still use the traditional open sheds. When temperature soars, chickens' stress level will increase and instead of 38 days it takes 40 days for them to reach the desired weight," he said during question time at the Dewan Negara sitting yesterday.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Senator Engku Naimah Engku Taib who asked whether the supply of chicken and meat would be affected by the hot weather, especially with Ramadan approaching.

According to Ahmad Shabery, chicken supply would be reduced by five to 10 percent due to the heat.

To address the situation, he said, poultry farmers were now housing the chickens in enclosed sheds where temperatures in the sheds could be controlled.

"For the coming fasting month, we have seen to all requirements; beginning from now we have increased egg production to offset the five to 10 percent short supply," he said.

If supply was still not sufficient, he added, the ministry was prepared to import chicken to ensure price stability.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Wilfred Madius Tangau had mentioned in earlier media reports that the El Nino phenomenon currently sweeping the country is expected to end in June.

Perlis, Pahang schools close

Meanwhile, all schools in Perlis and the districts of Jerantut and Temerloh in Pahang will close for one day today following the hot and dry weather.

The Education Ministry said in a statement that monitoring on the dry and hot weather faced by the country currently found that the areas concerned recorded the highest temperature exceeding 37˚C at a particular time for three days consecutively.

"The closure is a precautionary measure for the health of the students during the hot weather which will affect 259 schools comprising 68 secondary and 191 primary schools.

"The number of students affected is 97,533 comprising 91,862 secondary and primary school students as well as 5,671 pre-school pupils," the statement said.

According to the statement, the school closure was because of the hot weather and involved the non-attendance of pupils only, and the closure need not be replaced.

"Meanwhile, the administration operations of the schools, except for the teaching and learning activities of the students, must go on as usual.

"All teachers and staff of the school must be present at their respective school and work as normal including routine tasks and other tasks that did not involve students," the statement said.

The state Education Departments and district Education Departments involved must carry out monitoring to ensure compliance of the closure directive.

- Bernama