Indonesian and Malaysian officials held crisis talks today over the choking haze that has smothered Malaysia, which declared a state of emergency as the air pollution index soared.

Forest fires from Sumatra are blamed for the smog that has blanketed peninsular Malaysia for more than week, disrupting airports and shipping, panicking citizens and raising fears over public health.

Indonesian Forestry Minister Malam Sambat Kaban met Malaysian Environment Minister Adenan Satem at Medan airport in Sumatra, officials travelling with Kaban told AFP .

They declined to give details about the talks, which come with anger mounting in Malaysia over the fires, an annual event this time of year as farmers use the dry season to burn forest and clear land.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said ministers from the two neighbours would also meet in Jakarta on Friday in hope of coping with the haze and avoiding any longer-term political crisis.

"We must sit down and discuss and consult. This is the common interest," he said in Kuala Lumpur. "We cannot go into an open conflict. That will not be good for the region."

State of emergency

But Malaysia's main opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said Indonesia needed to take action and douse the fires amid reports that the smog could continue for weeks.

"Malaysians want an explanation why the Indonesian government cannot stop the haze from becoming a tragic annual event," he said. "As the source of haze is in Sumatra, Malaysians are powerless to do anything."

With visibility in places down to 200 metres or less, Kuala Lumpur's second airport was closed until further notice while the Malacca Straits, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, has become a dangerous hazard.

A major port facility on the strait between the countries suspended operation Wednesday, although a slight easing in conditions allowed it to re-open overnight, officials said.

Hundreds of schools in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding districts were ordered to close until Monday because of the worsening haze, which is causing a spike in asthma attacks and respiratory conditions.

"We are now in a state of emergency ," a Malaysian National Security Council official told AFP after the department of environment said the air pollution index had reached 529 in Port Klang and 531 in Kuala Selangor.

Fire still burning

Panicky citizens stripped pharmacies of their supplies of paper face masks , and the few which still had them were rationing sales to just a handful for each customer.

Satellite images showed more than 220 fire "hot spots," said Kusnadi, a forest fire official from Kalimantan, on the Indonesian part of Borneo island.

"Fires are still ongoing and in the area around West Kalimantan, it's getting worse by the day. Air quality in many areas is unhealthy from night time until early morning," Kusnadi told AFP .

The province had enough rangers to fight the fires but the problem persisted due to "ignorance" by local residents who continued clearing land with fires, and the remote locations of the blazes, he said.

Forest fires and land clearance were also continuing in Sumatra's Riau province, which faces peninsular Malaysia, said Khairul Zaenal, head of the province's environmental impact agency.

"This is not just Malaysia's problem. This is also a problem for us because if our forests are burning, our assets are also burning," said Zaenal.

In 1997 and 1998, choking haze caused mainly by Indonesian forest fires enveloped parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, for months.