Natural Resources and Environment Minister Adenan Satem and the Department of Environment (DOE) have been told to end their bureaucratic red tape and sheer laziness in not giving the people prompt and regular updates of Air Pollutant Index (API), particularly a daily 7am report.

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said today that since Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has urged Indonesia to clear its bureaucratic red tape to enable Malaysia to despatch its mission to contain the raging forest fires in Sumatra, the same call must be directed towards the Malaysian Environment Ministry.

"I have received complaints from the people in Perak and Penang why they could not be informed of the API in their areas first thing in the morning, as air pollution had significantly taken a turn for the worse overnight particularly in Penang," he said in a statement from Penang today.

According to Lim, Utusan Malaysia and Sin Chew Daily are publishing the 11am, 3 pm and 5pm API readings, or three readings in six hours from 11am to 5pm.

Only one reason

"Is there any reason why Malaysians should be kept in the dark about the API readings for 18 hours from 5pm to 11am and could not be informed of the 7am API reading first thing in the morning through radio, television and Internet?" he asked.

"There can only be one reason why the 7am API reading could not be made available to the Malaysian public first thing each morning through radio, television and Internet sheer laziness!

"Adenan must end such bureaucratic red tape and sheer laziness in not providing hourly API reading from 7am to 7pm, or at least the 7am API reading through radio, television and Internet or he must bear full responsibility for such bureaucratic red tape and sheer laziness in his ministry," the opposition leader added.