Kuala Lumpur: Schools across several Malaysian states and its federal and administrative capitals were closed on October 9 after smoke from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek announced the closures in a Facebook post, citing deteriorating haze conditions.
The affected areas include Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor on the Malaysian Peninsula, along with Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, the country’s administrative centre. Schools in the Rompin district of Pahang state were also ordered to close.
Sidek directed state education departments and district education offices to continue monitoring air quality and take immediate action if conditions required further measures.
Malaysia’s Air Pollutant Index (API) classifies readings between 101 and 200 as unhealthy, 201 to 300 as very unhealthy, and levels above 300 as hazardous. Government data showed that 37 areas across the country recorded unhealthy API readings on October 9 morning.
Indonesia has been struggling to control forest and land fires across several provinces, generating thick haze that has spread to neighbouring countries, including Malaysia and Singapore.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had agreed to take the necessary steps to address the haze problem. Malaysia also offered assistance to support Indonesia’s efforts.
Anwar added that he had asked Malaysia’s foreign minister to seek a meeting of ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to coordinate a regional response and assist Indonesia in tackling the fires and resulting air pollution.
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