The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, consents to the declaration after the air pollutant index reading in the Sarawak district goes beyond 500.
The Prime Minister’s Office said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, consented to the declaration after taking into account the advice of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg, and agencies on air quality in the affected area.
More effective measures will be taken to protect the health and welfare of the affected residents, it said in a statement.
“The government will continue to monitor developments from time to time and ensure all necessary action is carried out immediately, including mitigation measures, and the dissemination of information and health advisories to the public,” it said.
The API in Serian rose to 515 as of 5.25pm, driven by transboundary haze from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia.
Kuching also recorded a hazardous API reading of 306, while Samarahan (292) and Sri Aman (241) were at “very unhealthy” levels.
A haze emergency was last declared in Kuching in September 1997, when the API reached 650.
Anwar had earlier said he contacted Abang Johari on Thursday to discuss the haze situation, and gave an assurance that appropriate safety measures, including suspending office and school operations except for critical agencies, would be implemented if an emergency was declared.
647 schools closed for 5 days
In a statement, the Sarawak education department announced the closure of 647 schools for five days from Sept 7.
The affected schools comprise 563 primary schools with 108,477 pupils, and 84 secondary schools with 90,082 students across 12 district education offices.
They are in Kuching, Padawan, Bau, Lundu, Samarahan, Simunjan, Serian, Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Kanowit, Julau and Meradong. - FMT
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