As ‘very unhealthy’ air persists, Najib says to put off UPSR

Air Pollutant Index (air quality) levels as reported by the Environment Department today.

PETALING JAYA: As “very unhealthy” air continues to persist in Sarawak, former prime minister Najib Razak has urged the government to put the UPSR examinations on hold for two weeks.

“Don’t go on with it, it’s not worth it. Find another solution, postpone the UPSR nationwide for two weeks,” he said in an online posting today after the government said pupils would be given dust masks so that they can take the examinations although the air pollutant index (API) had passed the 200 point mark.

“If necessary, prepare new UPSR examination papers for students in Sarawak,” he said.

Widespread haze was reported in Sarawak today, with the Environment Department reporting air quality levels of “unhealthy” in Mukah, Sibu, Sarikei and Kuala Baram, and “very unhealthy” in Sri Aman, Samarahan and Kuching.

The Asean specialised meteorological centre in Singapore reported that hazy conditions were expected to continue, with widespread hotspots from open burning occurring in Kalimantan.

Najib said: “Should the government risk the health of the students when the government themselves recognises that the air is very unhealthy?” He hoped the government would stop the UPSR should the API index hit 300 points which is classified as hazardous.

Hotspots and haze conditions in Southeast Asia, reported by the Asean specialised meteorological centre.

He said the UPSR was postponed in 2014 after the exam papers were leaked.

Bernama reported today that education minister Maszlee Malik said all schools in Sarawak were being monitored, with the state education department taking the necessary measures to ensure the safety of pupils based on existing standard operating procedures.

“We (ministry) will wait for the reports on the latest developments from those on the ground,” he told reporters.

The Asean centre said persistent hotspots with smoke haze continued to be observed in central and southern Sumatra today, with dense smoke haze in Jambi, and moderate to dense smoke haze in Riau and Jambi blown towards Peninsular Malaysia.

“Widespread smoke haze persisted over West, Central and South Kalimantan, and moderate to dense smoke haze had spread northward and continued to affect western Sarawak.

“With the dry weather expected to persist over many parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, the hotspot and haze situation is likely to continue and parts of western Peninsular Malaysia and western Sarawak may continue to be affected by hazy conditions as a result,” the centre said. - FMT